Destruction of Islamic Art—Another Aspect of the Iraq War

Recently, a friend of mine, who is a docent at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, and is both an art afficionado and a friend of the Iraqi people (she is very anti-war) sent me the following:

“AAM/IPAM Iraq Program: Terry Weisser gave an update about the Walters’ plans to participate in the AAM International Partnership Among Museums (IPAM) Iraq program. Two museum professionals from the Iraq National Museum system in Baghdad will arrive at the Walters at the end of April for an intensive 4-week training and mentoring program in our conservation lab. A translator will be provided. Other participating museums include: The Field Museum in Chicago, the California Science Center and Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, the Chicago Historical Society, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.”

This is what I wrote to her:

"On a personal level, the Iraqi government representatives coming over for training with the Walters are probably good people. The mothers of Iraqi torture victims and Iraqi dead planned to come to the U.S. for the Women's Day solidarity action, but the U.S. government denied visas to many of them, so that their stories might not be told. So, it is important to realize that the folks coming over for training at the Walters would not be given U.S. visas if they were not okay with the U.S. occupying force.

Imam Abu Hanifa's mosque (one of the oldest in Islam) was attacked by U.S. artillery. The personal Qur’an of the Caliph Ali (RA) was destroyed by U.S. forces. Keep in mind that Ali (RA) was a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), making his Qur’an nearly 1400 years old. More than a dozen mosques--some of them very old--were leveled, during the destruction of Fallujah. Since Iraq was a center for Islamic learning, numerous centuries old Qur'ans (roughly 500 - 1100 years old), similar to those in the Freer and Sackler Galleries, were destroyed by occupying troops. The occupation and destruction has not ceased, and although these actions may not be directly attributable to the Iraqi government representatives who will be visiting the Walters, you might understand why such a visit at this time might be construed as hypocrisy. There is great angst not just amongst Iraqis, but also in the Muslim community at large about the destruction of ancient Islamic sites as a result of this war.

So, it is the height of cynicism that U.S. authorities--which allowed the Bagdad Museum to be looted, and who are clearly implicated in the destruction of Islamic antiquities--are now feigning interest (through their proxy government) in "conservation" of artifacts."