Islamic State’s execution of Khaled al-Asaad, the keeper of Palmyra’s extraordinary cultural artefacts, has inspired a rare consensus among Syria’s other political factions.

The archaeologist and historian reportedly opposed the 2011 uprising against the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, but his murder has provoked grief and condemnation from regime loyalists and opposition activists.

Syrian activists say Isis militants captured Asaad shortly after they seized control of the ancient city of Palmyra in May. He was reportedly released and recaptured later before he was beheaded in a public square on Tuesday. According to a placard tied to his corpse, Asaad was accused of apostasy. His alleged crimes included representing Syria at “infidel conferences”, serving as “the director of idolatry” in Palmyra, visiting Iran to commemorate the anniversary of the “Khomeini revolution” and communicating with Syrian military officers, including his brother Col Issa al-Asaadin.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, the director of Syria’s department of antiquities and museums, told CNN that Asaad had been executed because he refused to tell the militants the whereabouts of Palmyra’s treasures. There is no evidence this was the case, but local activists reported the regime had relocated antiquities as Isis closed on the city because of fears the militants would destroy or loot the ancient site. Once the group took control it did destroy two shrines that it considered idolatrous, according to its puritanical interpretation of Islam.

Khaled al-Asaad's enthusiasm for Palmyra was inextinguishable Read more

Another reason for Assad’s murder has, however, been overlooked. His execution is consistent with the actions of Isis, and its progenitor al-Qaida in Iraq, in targeting intellectuals, technocrats, tribal leaders and activists in both Iraq and Syria. Over the past decade, the group has intimidated and eliminated thousands of such influential figures. As such, it was surprising that Asaad chose to remain in Palmyra. In other Isis-controlled territories, intellectuals and community leaders have either fled or maintained a low profile.

Asaad is the most prominent Syrian scholar Isis has killed to date. Many feared the group would destroy Palmyra’s antiquities, but nobody anticipated it would murder their keeper. The opposition’s National Coalition condemned his killing as a savage crime. Even people who usually either justify or overlook acts committed against Assad regime have condemned his murder. Admired for his work in documenting and promoting Syria’s cultural heritage, he was regarded as a national treasure by regime loyalists and opponents. “You can’t write about Palmyra’s history or anything to do with Palmyrian work without mentioning Khaled Asaad,” said Amr al-Azm, a former Syrian antiquities official.

Asaad’s death is a reminder that Isis cannot be counted as part of the Syrian opposition. The group’s targeting of the country’s cultural heritage, and those who protect it, illustrates its distinct idealogical position. The reaction to the militants’ latest atrocity also offers hope that many of Assad’s opponents still differentiate between his regime and those who support it.



Hassan Hassan is associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and north Africa programme, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy and co-author of Isis: Inside the Army of Terror