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Why did the Islamic State Decide to Destroy Ancient Artifacts? What Was Their Reasoning?
This is an analysis of sociological concepts and how they fit into and explain current events. The source for the topic comes from an article on the Islamic State conflict and its attempt to overthrow all who stand in their way, specifically the western world and dissenting Muslims. This article, named “Why Islamic State militants destroy ancient sites”, was written by Dr. David Roberts, a professor at Kings College in London UK. Written in September 2015, it gives an overview of several ideas on why this group is acting this way. In my analysis, I use the concepts of ethnocentrism and the social theory of Marxism as a framework to discuss this topic.
This article seeks to explain the senseless violent destruction of some of our most precious artifacts in the Middle East and tries to give a good reason behind them. A huge question now is why the Islamic State feels like it needs to destroy and pillage, rape, beat, murder, and otherwise act barbarically in our modern society. One area for concern is the apparent disregard for the antiquities everywhere in the Middle East and the push to destroy everything that isn’t theirs. Dr. Roberts mentions several very ancient and irreplaceable historical sites that have been completely destroyed and the reasoning behind the seemingly senseless destruction…
