Jabhat al-Nusra’s attitudes towards tangible heritage in Syria

The disengagement from Al-qaeda

Bibliographic Data

ID6434342
AuthorsAdnan Almohamad (0000-0001-5646-569X, Birkbeck, University of London, corresponding author), Samir Alabdullah (Policy Analysis (United States))
Year2024
Volume20
Issue1
Pages57-82
Publication date2024-07-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1574-0773 • E-ISSN: 1574-0781
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15740773.2024.2383888
OpenAlexW4401037758
LanguageEN
References cited15

On 28 July 2016, Jabhat al-Nusra announced its disengagement from militant international Islamist organization al-Qaeda and became Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. In January 2017, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham rebranded yet again when it merged with several other Syrian groups to establish Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). HTS formed a civilian 'Syrian Salvation Government' to manage its regions. Among the transformations was in its attitudes towards the looting and destructions of antiquities, which had become endemic in Syria. HTS had targeted archaeological sites for destruction and looting. After its disengagement from al-Qaeda, HTS reopened the Idlib Museum in 2018, and claimed to protection of antiquities. This article aims to study the reasons and motives for the transformation in strategy of HTS regarding Syrian tangible heritage during the ongoing war in Syria and argues that this strategy remains one in which Syrian heritage is exploited for political gain within the context of a larger conflict

Ancient history · Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Disengagement theory · Government (linguistics · Looting · Militant · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage · Archaeological Research and Protection · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Law

Tools

Open DOI