------- Forwarded message follows -------
Subject: FW: H-ISLAMART: Appeal by Patrimoine sans
Frontières concerning Al-Najaf and Iraqi
cultural heritage [Jeff Spurr]
Date sent: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 08:56:50 +0200
Net List for the History of Islamic Art and Architecture
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]Namens Alan Fisher
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 17:10:08 -0400
From: Jeff Spurr <[log in to unmask]>
Friends and colleagues,
I expect that you all have been aghast at the reports of conflict
within the city of Najaf, often focused on the great cemetery
referred to in this declaration by Patrimoine sans Frontières, and
have followed the media reports matter-of-factly describing the use
of artillery and missile strikes in the heart of Najaf in a manner
that seems to excuse any violation of the city so long as the Shrine
of Ali itself is not damaged. This callous attitude simply assumes
that combat in Najaf, like that previously in Fallujah but worse
considering the historic and cultural importance of the city, is
justified. So far as I can see, the American forces and the
followers of Muqtada al-Sadr have behaved with about as much sense
and concern for the consequences as two pit bulls set upon each
other. The spirit of Saddam Hussein lives in this mindlessness, just
as in the taking over of Abu Gharib and employing it for nefarious
purposes, and it contributes to the entropic forces that seem likely
to drag Iraq down. The appeal below is belated but welcome.
Jeff
Dear subscribers,
Please find below the English version of our appeal, thank you.
ALERT OF PATRIMOINE SANS FRONTIÈRES FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE
CULTURAL AND SACRED HERITAGE OF NAJAF AND OF IRAK.
Thank you for circulating this alert as widely as possible.
Katell Guiziou
PATRIMOINE SANS FRONTIERES
61, rue François Truffaut
75012 Paris
Tél.: +33 (0)1 40 02 05 90
Fax: +33 (0)1 40 02 05 91
Email: [log in to unmask]
ALERT
- For immediate release-
Paris, Friday 20 August 2004
Threats to the sacred heritage site of Najaf and many other cultural
sites of Iraq Appeal by Patrimoine sans Frontières
After two weeks of fighting in Najaf, Iraq, Patrimoine sans
Frontières solemnly appeals to all of the parties involved to respect
the heritage of this Holy site for Shia Muslims. Patrimoine sans
Frontières appeals also to the international community to mobilise
against this situation which in effect is taking a cultural and
sacred site hostage. This site is one of the jewels of Iraqi cultural
heritage and its importance for the history of humanity makes it part
of the common heritage of all mankind.
The fighting that has taken place in the very heart of the historic
cemetery of Najaf (the Wadi Al-Salam, or valley of peace, one of the
largest burial grounds in the world) has caused the degradation of
the site with the destruction of many tombstones some of which date
back to the beginning of the Islamic era (7th century). The coalition
and Iraqi forces are currently surrounding the mausoleum of Ali, tomb
of the cousin and brother-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, where the
Moqtada Al-Sadr militias have taken refuge, endangering this monument
which has already suffered damages.
Declaring as unacceptable the profanation of sacred sites and the use
of cultural heritage remains as shields and military objectives,
Patrimoine sans Frontières calls to the:
- Combatants that have taken refuge in the Mausoleum to respect the
terms of the Hague Convention of 1954 on the protection of cultural
heritage in the event of armed conflict and not use this site as a
shield and target;
- International community, and principally UNESCO, ICOMOS and the
International Committee of the Blue Shield, to mobilise themselves in
the protection of this Holy site of the cultural heritage of Iraq;
- American Government to ratify the Hague Convention and the
additional protocol of 1977 to the Geneva Convention of 12 August
1949, regarding the protection of the victims of international armed
conflicts;
- Provisional Iraqi Government to respect the terms of the Hague
Convention, that Iraq ratified in 1967, and to ratify the additional
protocol to the Geneva Convention already cited;
- American troops to respect this sacred and historic site.
Through this communiqué Patrimoine sans Frontières wishes to recall
the threats that Iraqi cultural heritage continues to face one year
after the beginning of the war. Iraq is situated in a region that is
one of the cradles of our civilisation. Hundreds of magnificent
monuments, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes can be found
throughout this country which now has to face their degradation and
destruction, even in certain incidents total obliteration, of sites
that have survived several thousand years. The scientific community
and journalists in Iraq have been recently moved by the damaged
suffered by the ancient site of Babylon by the camps that have been
set up on site by international forces. The building of air bases
(like the one in Kirkuk) have further harmed archaeological sites.
Fighting has left hundreds of sites exposed and unprotected,
vulnerable to looters of all sorts that are currently devastating
sites by using dynamite and flooding the art market with objects
coming out of Iraq. The situation for heritage professionals in Iraq
is delicate as they have no materials, have only restricted mobility
and are being denied access to many sites. These conditions make it
impossible to carry out any emergency conservation.
Despite the mobilisation of the scientific community (namely in an
international seminar on the redefinition of the concept of cultural
heritage, Istanbul, 24-26 June), and the promise made by Paul Bremer,
former civil administrator for Iraq, that the site of Babylon and the
ensemble of Iraqi cultural heritage would be respected (11 June), the
fate of Najaf attests to the fact that the cultural heritage of Iraq,
our common heritage, is still today under threat of disappearing.
Saïd Zulficar, Vice-President of Patrimoine sans Frontières
Patrimoine sans Frontières
61, rue François Truffaut
75012 Paris
tel. 01 40 02 05 92
fax. 01 40 02 05 91
e-mail : [log in to unmask]
www.patrimsf.org
contact : Katell Guiziou (00 33 6 76 09 39 31)
Patrimoine Sans Frontières, a French NGO created in 1992, aims at
safeguarding the cultural heritage around the world.
Patrimoine Sans Frontières is a light and independent orgnisation.
Patrimoine Sans Frontières is dedicated to help the forgotten or
underestimated heritage: objects, buildings, urban and rural sites,
know-how; everything that is precious but endangered or neglected.
Its president is Béatrice de Durfort.
--
******************************
Jeffrey B. Spurr
Islamic and Middle East Specialist
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Fine Arts Library, Harvard University
Fogg Art Museum
32 Quincy St.
Cambridge, MA 02138-3802
Phone: (617) 495-3372
Fax: (617) 496-4889
http://hcl.harvard.edu/finearts/aga_khan.html
http://hcl.harvard.edu/finearts/Islamicclassification/index.html
http://hcl.harvard.edu/finearts/semitic_photo.html
http://archnet.org/library/documents/one-document.tcl?document_id=6041
http://archnet.org/library/documents/one-document.tcl?document_id=6042
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