Islamic State burns libraries in Iraq

Historic collections on science, culture, poetry and even children’s books are reportedly destroyed in Mosul

By Helen Stoilas. Web only
Published online: 04 February 2015

In January, an Iraqi man looks at books on al-Mutanabi Street, home to the city's book market in central Baghdad. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

In a further attack on cultural heritage, Islamic State has begun burning books and manuscripts in Iraq. In January, militants broke into the Central Library of Mosul, and took away more than 2,000 books to be destroyed, including children’s stories, poetry, philosophy and scientific volumes, some dating from the Ottoman Empire, the Associated Press reports. 

 

Residents near the Central Library of Mosul were told by an Islamic State official that “these books promote infidelity and call for disobeying Allah. So they will be burned,” a local man told AP on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from IS.

A few days later, the group staged a similar attack on the University of Mosul’s library, where they built a bonfire from hundreds of books in front of students. A history professor at the university, who also spoke to AP on condition he not be named, said Islamic State struck other public libraries in December, causing extensive damage at a Sunni Muslim archive, the holdings of the Latin Church and Monastery of the Dominican Fathers and the Mosul Museum Library, which houses objects dating to 5000 BC.

Hakim al-Zamili, the head of the Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee, compared Islamic State’s actions to the Medieval Mongols, who sacked Baghdad in 1258. They destroyed the great library, known as the House of Wisdom, and dumped its ancient tomes on mathematics, medicine and astronomy into the river, purportedly turning the waters black from the ink. “The only difference is that the Mongols threw the books in the Tigris River, while now [Islamic State] is burning them,” al-Zamili told AP. “Different method, but same mentality.”

Update: According to Charles E. Jones, who moderates the IraqCrisis mailing list, sources in Mosul and Baghdad have been unable to confirm the reports of the libraries being destroyed. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact IraqCrisis, or leave a comment below.