We Can Help Stop the DestructionCan Syria’s Cultural Heritage be a Fulcrum for ending its Civil War?
By Franklin Lamb - Omayyad Mosque, Damascus
For visitors to Syria these days, certainly this one, it’s almost become a cliché to shake ones head and mumble, “this
is not your normal civil war!” Meaning that in spite of the dangerous environment for families and enormous sacrifices
being paid daily, the Syrian people go about their lives with amazing resilience.
Yesterday, 2/5/15, was the latest example. Rebel mortars started raining on downtown at 7 a.m. after a rebel commander
Zahran Alloush of the “Islam Army” tweeted that his forces would keep firing mortars and rockets “until the capital is
cleansed.” An estimated nine people were killed, and dozens wounded in downtown Damascus from roughly 60 rebel mortars.
By the end of the day more than seventy, most of them rebel forces, died as the Syrian army and rebel fighters trading
salvos of rockets and mortar bombs.
Despite the bombardment, most office workers showed up for work, students arrived for classes at Damascus University,
and the public schools were open although many were dismissed early. This observer had appointments at three different
Ministries and only one person I was to meet stayed home because it was near the fighting and he chose not to tempt
fate.
One government minister smiled knowingly when his visitor commented that between the Dama Rose hotel and his office,
although the streets were at that point nearly empty and the sound of mortars was loud, the street cleaners and trash
collectors were nonchalantly going about their work. Students of Syrian culture say examples such as this one reflect
the deep and unique connections among Syrians for their country–present and past.
It is becoming commonplace, as the world learns more and becomes more distressed about Syria’s Endangered Heritage to
speak of this country as the crucible or cradle of human civilization which spans hundreds of thousands of years. This
country is home to some of the world’s first cities, as well as globally important sites from the Akkadian, Sumerian,
Hittite, Assyrian, Persian, Greco-Roman, Ummayyad, Crusader, and Ottoman civilizations and to some of the oldest, most
advanced civilizations in the world.
The area saw our evolution – for example, at the Middle Acheulian occupation site at Latamne northern Syria between 800
– 500,000 years old, stone tools and possibly even early hearths have been identified as belonging to a civilization
hundreds of thousands of years before modern humans evolved 120,000 years ago. 10,000 years ago, the first crops and
cattle were domesticated in Syria and the subsequent settlements gave rise to the first city states, such as Ebla and
Mari. Writing developed here and the creation of literary epics, art, sculpture, and the expansion of trade soon
followed. At the crossroads of the Mediterranean, the destined to become modern Syria was invaded by the rise of the
great Southern empires emerging from Ur, Bablyon, Assur, Akkad and Sumer. From the East the Persians invaded and
occupied the area and then the Mongols and the Arabs. From the North came the Hittites and from the West, the Greeks,
the Romans and the Byzantines to be followed by the Crusading forces of the Kings of Europe. Nomadic tribes, known from
the Christian Bible, such as the Canaanites and Arameans, arrived and all conquered the area for varying periods and
settled. For 400 years Syria was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire and her people revolted and occupation was passed to
French after World War I until Syria finally achieved her independence following World War II.
Nowhere else has the world witnessed this complex and unique meeting of states, empires and faiths as Syria. Who can
imagine that the great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus was originally a temple to Jupiter? Later converted to a Christian
basilica to John the Baptist, and in turn became what some consider the fourth-holiest place in Islam.
Salahdin, the enemy of King Richard the Lionheart, is buried there. And as history continues to leave its ever-changing
imprint, in the last thirty years UNESCO has declared six sites in Syria– Syria has 6 such sites including the ancient
City of Damascus and a further 12 on the list for Tentative consideration on its World Heritage List. It is from this
this rich and diverse history, that Syria’s people have a reputation for tolerance and kindness. Yet now this history,
and the peace built upon it, is threatened as never before, and the cultural heritage of all of us, these cross-roads of
civilization are quite literally caught in the cross-hairs of war.
Religion has also indelibly marked Syria. This observer has walked through some of the area where Abraham, who
influenced three monotheistic religions, pastured sheep at Aleppo and gave the city its Arabic name – Halab. Other
visits to religious landmarks have included the old city of Damascus and Straight Street, where tradition holds that the
conversion of Saul to Paul the Apostle occurred. Shortly before the events of March 2011, mass was still being held in
the house he reputedly inhabited almost 2,000 years ago. The head of the John the Baptist, cousin of Jesus, is said to
be enshrined in the Great Mosque in Damascus. The village Maloula is amongst the last places in the world where Aramaic,
the language spoken at the time of Jesus, can still be heard – part of a living, breathing, spoken history. Khalid ibn
al-Walid, companion to the Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, is buried in Homs in his namesake mosque. Muhammad’s
successors left a legacy of beautiful mosques: several are now part of World Heritage sites.
When many of us ponder destruction of cultural heritage, we tend to think first of great monuments burning or blasted
into rubble. Yet these monuments are about people, and it is with people that all discussions of heritage must begin and
finish. Heritage is built by them. It is used and reused by them. Cultural Heritage is also about more than built
structures, it is about the intangible beliefs and practices associated with them, and the values assigned to them,
including those which may have no material manifestation at all. An analysis of the destruction of Syria’s cultural
heritage necessarily encompasses many expressions.
This observer has experienced firsthand locations in Syria where heritage is sometimes at the forefront of the conflict,
most notably in the Citadel and Al-Madina Souk in the heart of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a World Heritage site.
Conflict in this area has been particularly heavy and damage extensive. The Citadel has taken on a symbolic status to
those involved. To militarily control the Citadel is to own the heart of Aleppo, one of the oldest cities in the world.
Yet, ironic as it may seem at first brush, it is during conflict we often see the true, enduring power of heritage to
heal and build peace. We have seen in Syria cases where after looters tried to break into the Museums or were caught
doing illegal excavations, or trying to sell looted artifacts, that local citizens objected and in some cases risked
their lives while confronting criminals and sometimes even blocking access to archeological sites. Such patriotic acts
are not just about the protection of the past, but also about the present. We have seen in Syria that after a series of
bombings at religious sites, Christians have protected Muslims so that their sisters and brothers can worship in peace,
and Muslims in Syria do the same for Churches. These acts of solidarity in Syria, for Syria, are not only bringing the
two communities closer together, but they resonates around the world, showing people that peace is possible, and that
people of all faiths can work together and are even willing to risk their lives for one another for their shared past-
for our shared past, and for each other’s beliefs.
But there is another view. Islamic jihadists have several times explained in great detail to this observer that they
want to ruin the artifacts of non-Muslim civilizations, because doing so testifies to the truth of Islam. They always
explain that the Qur’an suggests that ruins are a sign of Allah’s punishment of those who rejected his truth. Many were
the Ways of Life that have passed away before you: travel through the earth, and see what the end was for those who
rejected Truth. (Qur’an 3:137) This is one of the foundations of the Islamic idea that pre-Islamic civilizations, and
non-Islamic civilizations, are all jahiliyya — the society of unbelievers, which is worthless. Scores of examples,
including ISIS (Da’ish) destroying Assyrian statues and artifacts believed to be 3000 years old which they illegally
excavated from the Tell Ajaja site. Museums at Apamea, Aleppo, and Raqqa experienced thefts, and the archaeological
sites of Deir ez-Zor, Mari, Dura Europos, Halbia, Buseira, Tell Sheikh Hamad and Tell es-Sin have all been damaged by
looters and as of February 2015, five out of six UNESCO world heritage sites in Syria have been damaged by war. Damage
to sites like the ancient city of Aleppo and the ruins of Palmyra, Crac des Chevalier and so many others. Nowhere worse
than the destruction of the minaret of al-Umayyad mosque in Aleppo in May of 2013.
Daunting as the restoration and repairing these sites may appear, it is a crucial process to foster reconciliation while
protecting the heritage that unites all Syrians. People need to rebuild trust and for that to happen, they must have
shared memories together. It was a Syrian PhD student, who teamed up with a Dutch archaeology professor, who began
documenting the damage to Syrian heritage sites shortly after March of 2011. Soon the work expanded to become a
peace-building initiative across Syrian civil society. One of the most remarkable social society NGO’s, now doing many
amazing projects is the Spain based Heritage for Peace.
(www.heritageforpeace.org ) HFP, like several other private politically neutral groups are working on restoring and repairing these sites as a
way to foster reconciliation and it has been achieving much, if on a small scale so far.
The local restoration and repair of damaged sites where security conditions allow will foster reconciliation. As
archeological sites are rebuilt so will trust be rebuilt. This observer has experienced this inspiring phenomenon among
officials, student volunteers, Syrian army personnel and even rebels. Participants in Syria’s civil war and regular
citizens trying to survive the carnage need a basis to rebuild trust and shared memories matter. Hugely. They unite
Syrians, pro or anti regime, Syrian locals who refused to leave their home or the three million ex-pats who have fled
and want to come home.
The NGO, Heritage for Peace (HFP), is one among others that has studied the destruction in Syria and that believes that
heritage can serve as a key focus of dialogue among communities and ethnic and religious groups who have been pitted
against one another over the past four years. As part of this process, heritage can become scaffolding for constructing
peace in Syria by concentrating on protecting cultural heritage and mitigating damage by galvanizing the public, both
local and international, to support heritage protection. Studies show that when citizens caught up in civil war, a
movement focused on protecting common cultural heritage fosters compatibility between communities and hastens the
postwar phase. Protesting our shared cultural heritage in Syria is showing signs for becoming a peace-building
initiative across civil society.
And there is an important role for the global community. What needs to be done now to protect our cultural heritage in
Syria which can also help end the conflict are the following measures which all of us can and must participate in. All
people of good can work to promote the safeguarding and protection of our cultural heritage in Syria irrespective of
religious or ethnic identity. To this end they hopefully will work for goals include the following:
*Document and preserve knowledge of the damages to cultural heritage in Syria during the present conflict while
developing long-term policies to protect Syria’s heritage in conflict;
*Raise global awareness of the importance for Syria’s heritage of ending the fighting and stopping its destruction;
*Encourage the co-operation of national and international NGOs who are already working to protect Syria’s heritage and
liaise with Syrian heritage workers operating during a current conflict; and the international heritage community;
*Raise global awareness of and campaign against the illicit trade in looted Syrian artifacts globally focusing on the
neighboring countries Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan and expose those dealers, auction houses and museums who profit
from theft of our global heritage in Syria;
*Promote understanding across diverse communities in Syria of the communal value of heritage and encourage foreign
archeologists who have previously worked in Syria to provide information and assistance during and after the conflict;
*Promote the return of tourism to Syria and assist in preparations for reconstruction and preservation in the
post-conflict phase and the return of international archeologists.
We can help stop the continuing destruction of our global heritage in Syria by this solidarity work. And it can function
as a sort of fulcrum to bring an end to Syrian conflict by demonstrating that the people of Syria, custodians of the
past of all of us, value this heritage over politics or bizarre religious applications which command that our heritage
be destroyed.
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Franklin P. Lamb, LLB, LLM, PhD, Legal Adviser, The Sabra-Shatila Scholarship Program, Shatila Camp (SSSP-lb.com).
Volunteer with the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign (PCRC) Beirut and Washington, DC committed to help achieving the
Right To Work and the Right to Home Ownership for every Palestinian Refugee in Lebanon. Lamb’s recent book, Syria’s
Endangered Heritage, An international Responsibility to Protect and Preserve is in production by Orontes River
Publishing House, Hama, Syrian Arab Republic. Inquires c/o orontesriverpublishing@gmail.com.