For sale: Ancient artifacts. Islamic State offers up what it hasn't smashed By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.15.15 Word Count 889 In this image made from a militant video posted on YouTube on May 26, 2015, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, smoke rises behind archaeological ruins in Palmyra, Syria. Photo: Militant video via AP BAGHDAD, Iraq The Islamic State group has caused anger around the world by boldly destroying ancient monuments with jackhammers and bulldozers. At the same time, the extremists also have been quietly selling smaller objects from Iraq and Syria. The sales have brought in many millions of dollars, according to officials and experts. Islamic State is an extremist group. It has also been called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It wants to set up its own country governed by Islamic law. Its fighters have taken over parts of Syria and some of northern and western Iraq. "What They Can't Sell, They Destroy" The Islamic State group has defended its destruction of cultural items by saying they are symbols of idol worship, which is against its religion, and represent cultures that existed before Islam. Behind the scenes, though, the group has developed a system for its looting. The group has even made the practice part of its self-declared religious state. It has granted so-called licenses for digging in historic sites through one of its departments.
The growing trade reflects how the group has solidified its hold on the area since seizing the Iraqi city of Mosul. It took over Mosul a year ago. The extremist group's recent capture of Syria's majestic 2,000-year-old ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra threw a spotlight on the risk that it poses to the region's rich cultural heritage, or history. It is, however, just one of 4,500 sites under the group's control, according to the Financial Action Task Force. It is a group that tracks the movement of money that pays for terrorism. "They steal everything that they can sell, and what they can't sell, they destroy," said Qais Hussein Rasheed. He is an Iraqi official in charge of items from the ancient past, or antiquities. Smuggling of antiquities has increased a lot since Mosul was captured by Islamic State fighters, he said. A Record Of Destruction Extremists also seized the ancient city of Nineveh in Iraq at the same time. In a video released earlier this year, the Islamic State group showed its fighters drilling off the faces of the mighty stone-winged bulls on the gates of the city. The fighters also recorded themselves destroying statues at Mosul's museum. However, many of those items were actually copies of antiquities that are really kept in Baghdad, Iraqi officials said. Anything genuine and small enough to move was likely sold or stored by the group, they said. Iraq has seen its historic sites ruined for years as thieves have taken advantage of instability in the country. The destruction of the national museum in Baghdad after the U.S.- led invasion in 2003 was condemned around the world. Like Money In The Bank Islamic State's looting began when the group first controlled part of Syria. The business has become more organized as the group has conquered more territory. How much the Islamic State group earns from these sales is difficult to estimate. Iraqi officials say it is the group's second-most-important money-maker after oil sales. It earns the group tens of millions of dollars. The extremist group has been getting less money from selling oil because U.S. airstrikes have destroyed some of its oil equipment. Experts and officials worry that the lost oil money might make the Islamic State group focus even more on illegally digging up items. It is a dependable source of money, "which makes it very attractive," said Michael Danti, a professor of archaeology at Boston University. Danti advises the U.S. State Department about looted antiquities from Iraq and Syria. He said some stolen items have made their way to U.S. and other Western markets. Many of the objects are lower- and medium-priced, such as stone seals with ancient writing.
Stolen Objects Turning Up Online The group will probably put larger items though a process to make it seem as if they were obtained legally. This can take years. The process involves making fake papers, or forged documents. To be traded legally, an object must have been excavated or exported before 1970. The United Nations put in a rule prohibiting buying and selling such items in 1970. However, the rule is not well enforced. One archaeology group estimates that perhaps 90 percent of ancient historic items in collections may be stolen antiquities. Smaller items from Iraq and Syria are now widely sold online, said Deborah Lehr. She is the co-founder of the Antiquities Coalition. The group aims to end the theft and sales of ancient objects. Lehr says people need to be educated about the problem. Rules also need to be enforced. People need to know that they could be funding terrorists by buying the items, she said. History, Diversity Fading Away In Baghdad, officials say they are doing what they can to slow the business. It has been difficult because the Islamic State group is using networks for smuggling that have been around for decades, officials said. Iraq's Rasheed says there should be no trade at all in antiquities from the country. His office is in the same building as the national museum. It recently reopened to the public for the first time since 2003. "The Iraqi people need to be able to witness their history, their diversity," Rasheed said. "What's happening is a tragedy."
Quiz 1 Which of the following statements is a personal opinion? The Islamic State is making a lot of money selling antiquities. The Islamic State considers some ancient objects to be against their religion. The Islamic State has developed an organized system for looting historical sites. If people knew that they were supporting terrorism by buying antiquities, they would stop. 2 From the four statements given below, which are key details of the article? 1. The Islamic State thinks that certain antiquities are symbols of idol worship. 2. The ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra are 2,000 years old. 3. Selling antiquities is the second-most-important source of money for the Islamic State. 4. In 2004, the national museum of Baghdad was destroyed. 1 and 2 1 and 3 2 and 3 3 and 4 3 Read the section "What They Can't Sell, They Destroy." According to the article, what does the Islamic State's growing sale of antiquities demonstrate? that the Islamic State considers antiquities to be symbols of idol worship that the Islamic State is a major threat to the stability of the region that the Islamic State has become more powerful and organized that the Islamic State will destroy objects that they cannot sell
4 Read the section "Like Money In The Bank." Which option BEST explains the connection between the sale of antiquities and the bombing of oil equipment? By bombing oil equipment, the United States is making it more difficult for the Islamic State to loot historic sites. After the United States bombed its oil equipment, the Islamic State was even more certain that it was right to destroy antiquities. Selling antiquities became a very dependable source of money after the United States bombed the Islamic State's oil equipment. When the United States bombed oil equipment, the Islamic State lost money, which it is trying to make up by selling antiquities.