Beheaded Scholar Refused to Lead ISIS to Hidden Antiquities
An antiquities scholar renowned for leading excavations and restorations in the ancient city of Palmyra defied the Islamic State terrorists by refusing to divulge the location of hidden artifacts, according to a report in the Guardian. “The brutal murder of Khaled al-Asaad, 82, is the latest atrocity perpetrated by the jihadi group, which has captured a third of Syria and neighbouring Iraq and declared a ‘caliphate’ on the territory it controls,” report Kareem Shaheen and Ian Black. “It has also highlighted Isis’s habit of looting and selling antiquities to fund its activities – as well as destroying them.” Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site, is famed for its 2,000-year-old ruins. The Islamic State regards such artifacts as idolatrous, and the religious extremists are threatened by the centuries of history, education and beliefs that have led to modern civilization. – YaleGlobal
Beheaded Scholar Refused to Lead ISIS to Hidden Antiquities
Khaled al-Asaad, 82, was interrogated by militants for a month before the Islamic State murdered him in Palmyra for refusing to hand over antiquities
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Kareem Shaheen is a Middle East reporter based in Beirut. Ian Black is the Guardian’s Middle East editor. In more than 25 years on the paper he has also been its European editor, diplomatic editor, foreign leader writer and Middle East correspondent.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/18/isis-beheads-archaeologist-syria
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