Mar 16, 2015

Painful images were circulated in the news in early February, showing Islamic State (IS) members burning close to 20,000 books in the area of Sadiyah in the province of Diyala. On Feb. 22, the terrorist group burned the public library in the city of Mosul.

The burning of libraries continued, reaching the cities of Anbar, Tikrit and others that fall under the group’s control. Local residents in the city of Mosul have said that their cities have become without books, after having been widely known for the abundance of their libraries. Rare manuscripts were among the burned documents, according to witnesses in the city.

Dia al-Jassani, a sociology professor at Baghdad University, said during a phone interview with Al-Monitor that the behavior of IS reflects an ideological and behavioral complex based on intimidation to control others. He noted that reinforcing ignorance is one of the elements of this ideological and behavioral complex, since the group ridicules other civilizations and cultures, and their symbols.

Through its antagonism of civilizations, IS seeks to revive ancient eras, and imitate as much as possible life during the period of early Islam in the 7th century, during which there were no arts and sciences, but only religious jurisprudence. The Islamic religion contains a lot of teachings that prohibit the modernization of religion, or the introduction of new elements to customary forms of worship, Any such addition is referred to as a "bid'ah," or heresy. The term carries a negative connotation in the religious sense, although it is derived from the Arabic word "ibda,” or creativity.

Extremist groups such as IS and al-Qaeda use the customs and traditions of the desert and distort them with religious connotations. As a result, these groups have prohibited anything new and innovative, not only in religion and worship, but in all areas of life. They are trying to return to life to the pre-innovation and modernization ages. Thus, they are burning all arts, literature and science books, and keeping specific genres of books, mainly those related to the Islamic faith. The extremist organization has destroyed theaters and ruins, eliminated heritage and prohibited the use of mobile phones, deeming these “heresies.” They also prohibited people from wearing modern clothes, and imposed dress worn in ancient times.