Islamic extremists target cultural treasures

Ansar Dine fighters destroy an ancient Timbuktu shrine in July. /Image via cnn.com


Cultural rivalry helps fuel movements based on fundamentalist religion or ideology. There are many historical examples of these campaigns against history: The Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem to strike a blow at the heart of Jewish history, the Roman Catholic Inquisition fought against history when it condemned Galileo, and the Taliban assaulted Buddhist history in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley.

The latest front in Islamic extremists' cultural war is Timbuktu in Mali, where fighters reportedly affiliated with al-Qaeda have been destroying antiquities for months. Timbuktu, an early center of Islamic culture, was declared a UN World Heritage site mainly because of its ancient cemeteries and mausoleums. The Salafist Muslims of the Islamist group that has seized control of northern Mali, Ansar Dine, view the mausoleums as a form of idolatry.

"Not a single mausoleum will remain in Timbuktu," Abou Dardar, an Ansar Dine leader, told AFP on Dec. 23.

"Allah doesn't like it," said Abou Dardar. "We are in the process of smashing all the hidden mausoleums in the area."

BBC radio reported Ansar Dine fighters forced their way into private homes over the weekend and destroyed four mausoleums.

In 2001, the Taliban destroyed huge Buddhist statues that had been carved into a mountainside in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan. The statues were more than 1,000 years old. /Images via pbs.org