Inside Story

Does destroying human history serve ISIL’s goals?

Scenes of ISIL fighters smashing artifacts at museum in Iraq’s Mosul have drawn an unprecedented outcry worldwide.

Calls to protect Iraq’s ancient sites are growing. This comes after fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were shown destroying a priceless collection of artifacts in Mosul’s museum.
 
And this is not the first time. The group’s fighters have also destroyed Islamic sites and attacked
churches and other shrines in parts of Syria and Iraq under their control.
 
But why is ISIL targeting history? Does that serve its goals?
 
Presenter: Martine Dennis
 
Guests:
 
Carool Kersten – Senior lecturer in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World at King’s College London.
 
Paul Collins – Curator of Ancient New East at the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford.
 
Ahmed Rushdi – Director of the House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation.