The scandal of burning of several libraries in Iraq and the great loss of books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, historical documents and the like of cultural heritage materials was a shameful crime for humanity in modern history.
Some of these crimes committed after the American invention to Iraq in March 2003 are known, but there are still some unknown crimes such as the following:
The library of the college of fine arts of Baghdad University was established in the sixties of the twentieth century. It contains the largest and the best collection of art books in Iraq in the fields of theater, fine arts, design, ancient and modern history and literature and the related fields. Its collection exceeds 70,000 books.
It is believed that the library may have been looted first, then the building of the library and the hall collection were totally burned to the ground. Everything was turned in to white fine powder. There were no black deposits or a single piece of half burned papers or books. The heat was high enough to cause the melting of the thick and steal enforced stained glass of the front wall of the library, and the deformation of steel and iron bars of its structure and the steel cabinets in which some books were kept. Such result may have not been reached without the use of highly flammable and heat producing chemicals. The primary aim of the attackers was the destruction of the collection and not theft. The crime no doubt was committed by a trained group using highly combustive materials.
The attached pictures show: 1- The stained glass front wall of the library designed by the late Iraqi artist Kadhum Hayder. It was a unique work of decorative art by the artist. 2- Former doctorate student of the college of fine arts holding, what she believes, the ashes of her thesis.3- The deformed steel cabinets and the fine white ashes of the burned collection.
Nasser Al- Shawi
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