Religious heritage destroyed in Syria so far

Religious heritage destroyed in Syria so far

According to the United Nations, over 300 sites of inestimable value to humanity have been destroyed in Syria – a region which harbored monuments over 7000 years old. “Humanity is losing thousands of years of heritage”, says Einar Borgo, director of Unosat. Read the whole article in French here.

“The heritage of centuries has been wiped out in little more than a year”, writes Denis MacEoin on the website of the Gatestone Institute – International Policy Council. The article includes a list of some of the most the painful losses so far to the religious heritage of several religions, above all that of Muslims:

Losses so far include:

  • The statues of Mulla ‘Uthman al-Mawsili (1845-1923), a famous musician and poet, of a woman carrying an urn, and of Abu Tammam (788-845), author of the celebratedHamasa, one of the greatest literary compilations ever made in Arabic.
  • The destruction of the greatly venerated tomb of ‘Ali ibn al-Athir al-Jazari (1160-1233), a major landmark that had stood in the centre of Mosul for centuries. Ibn al-Athir is celebrated as the author of The Complete History, one of the most important histories of Islam ever written.
  • The Islamic State’s destruction of the Tomb of Yunus (Jonah) Mosque, which was blown to pieces along with all its contents. Even before the explosion, fighters took sledgehammers to ancient tombstones in the building. The mosque was of importance not just to the Muslims of the city, but as a place of pilgrimage for Jews and Christians. St. George’s Monastery church, one of the oldest in the region, has also gone forever.

The list, unfortunately, is much longer than this. To read the whole article, click here.

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