Mosul Museum

The Mosul Museum (Arabic: متحف الموصل‎) is the second largest museum in Iraq after the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. It was heavily looted during the 2003 Iraq War.[1][2] Founded in 1952, the museum consisted of a small hall until a new building was opened in 1972, containing ancient Assyrian artifacts.[3] The museums net worth and content value are around 50 to 80 to 250 million according to museum specialists during 2013 at least. Dr. Hikmat Al-Aswad was the Director from 2004-2011. The current director is Zaid Ghazi Saadallah.

Mosul Museum
متحف الموصل
Location within Mosul
Former name
Mosul Museum of History
Established1952 (1952)
LocationMosul, Iraq
Coordinates36.337923°N 43.139372°E / 36.337923; 43.139372
TypeNational History Museum
Collection sizeapprox. 2,200 pieces
DirectorZaid Ghazi Saadallah
OwnerMinistry of Tourism and Antiquities

ISIL seizure and destruction spree
Main article: Destruction of Mosul Museum artifacts

In 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) occupied the Museum as it was about to reopen after years of rebuilding. ISIL said that its statues were against Islam and threatened to destroy the museum's contents.[4][5]

On 26 February 2015, a day after burning books from Mosul libraries,[6] the group released a video showing the destruction of artifacts in the museum and at the archaeological site at Nimrud, claiming the sites promoted "Idolatry". ISIL stated that they also intend to destroy the historic walls of Nineveh.

There has been quite some confusion whether artefacts destroyed by ISIL militants were originals or just copies. Mossul's exiled governor Atheel al-Nujaifi said that many of the most important works, except for the larger objects, were transferred to the Baghdad Museum after the 2003 Iraq War,[7] the most valuable ones having been sent to Baghdad already after the 1991 Gulf War.[8] Later in March, the director of Iraq's antiquities administration, Fawzye al-Mahdi, however, incorrectly stated that "none of the artifacts destroyed in the video was an original."[9] As al-Nujaifi specified, "there were two items that were real and which the militants destroyed: one is a winged bull and the other was the God of Rozhan."[10]

It was revealed that ISIS has turned the artifact warehouse into a tax office – the "Diwan Zakat" – to collect dues from its Islamist fighters.[11]

In 2017 the city of Mosul was recaptured by the Iraqi troops; the museum was described as damaged, with some artifacts likely plundered and sold off by ISIS troops, and others damaged or destroyed, sometimes intentionally.[12]

Reactions

In late February, UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council "on the protection of Iraq's cultural heritage as an integral element for the country's security".[13]

Post-liberation recovery

In 2018, the International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH), committed nearly 1.5 million USD to rehabilitate the museum, in partnership with the Louvre Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage to implement the project. The first measures were to stabilize the building (shoring up collapsing floors, removing live ordnance from the roof) and to safely store the museum's collection.

In cooperation with the Government of Iraq and Municipality of Mosul, Iraqi civil society organisation, Al-Ghad, and the Mosul Artists’ Committee hosted[14] the first event in Mosul Museum since the City's occupation in 2014. The art exhibition, ‘Return to Mosul’ opened on 29 January and closed on 3 February 2019, and brought together artistic voices from across Iraq and Mosul and enhanced them with technology including 3D printing and Virtual Reality experiences.[15] It commissioned and exhibited paintings, photographs and sculpture that told the story of the City's occupation under the extremist organisation, ISIS, and articulated a vision of the local community's hopes for recovery and reconstruction. The exhibition brought together many different ethno-sectarian groups, previously fractured by the divisive actions and narratives of ISIS, and encouraged them to discuss their vision of a brighter, more tolerant future in Mosul. The exhibition was staged in the newly restored Royal Venue, in the old wing of the Museum.

Reopening

On July 10, 2020 Iraq’s new prime minister, Mustafa Al-Khadhimi, reopened the Mosul Museum during his visit to mark six years since the ISIL occupation.[16]

See also

References
  1. Mosul descends into chaos as even museum is looted. The Guardian. April 12, 2003
  2. Unesco inspection finds no evidence of recent looting in Northern Iraq The Art Newspaper
  3. Riyadh Mohammed (26 Feb 2015). "ISIS Destroys Second Largest Museum in Iraq". The Fiscal Times.
  4. "The Plight Of Mosul's Museum: Iraqi Antiquities At Risk Of Ruin". NPR.org. 9 July 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  5. Christopher Dickey, "ISIS Is About to Destroy Biblical History in Iraq,", The Daily Beast, July 7, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014
  6. "Isis destroys thousands of books and manuscripts in Mosul libraries". The Guardian. 26 Feb 2015.
  7. "Mosul Governor: Most destroyed artifacts were copies". Rûdaw. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  8. Jane Arraf (2 March 2015). "Iraqis mourn destruction of ancient Assyrian statues". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  9. Birgit Svensson (11 March 2015). "Were mere copies of Iraq's national treasures destroyed?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  10. "Sorry, ISIS: smashed statues 'were fakes'". Al Arabiya. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  11. "ISIS turns Mosul museum into tax office". 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  12. Omar, Kawa. "Scars of looting, destruction all that remain at Mosul museum". U.S. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  13. Kareem Shaheen (27 February 2015). "Isis fighters destroy ancient artefacts at Mosul museum". The Guardian.
  14. "Return to Mosul: An exhibition to bring the city's people back together". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  15. McMahon, Tony (2019-01-27). "Mosul Museum, wrecked by Isis, is brought back to life with 3D tech". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  16. "Iraq's new PM visits Mosul mosque destroyed by Daesh". Arab News. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-11.

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