I wonder why the world is so incapacitated that it is unable to stop this insanity
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: Someone has rightly commented that under the Islamic State (IS), history itself is now becoming history. Is the international community so helpless that it is not able to prevent a mad crowd from looting, ransacking and destroying our shared global heritage at will? In March, the terrorists used explosives and bulldozers to ransack the centuries-old ruins of Nimrud, one of Iraq’s greatest archaeological treasures. Then, Palmyra — nicknamed the Pearl of the Desert — after having its invaluable artefacts looted, is being destroyed, bit by bit. Its 2,000-year-old Baalshamin temple has now been demolished. Earlier, 80-year-old Syrian archeologist Khaled al-Asaad, who spent his entire life preserving gems from the ancient world of Palmyra, was brutally beheaded because he refused to reveal the location of artefacts that had been moved for safekeeping. It is obvious that the IS was looking for these treasures to make some quick bucks in the black market. The IS is not alone in this madness — their brethren in Mali and Afghanistan did the same thing by destroying centuries-old valuable manuscripts and Buddha statues.
I wonder why the world is so incapacitated that it is unable to stop this insanity. No one knows who is next as we anticipate sad days ahead.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, August 26th, 2015.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
