Hopeful video from ISIS?

Screenshot of Palmyra illustrating alleged ISIS video. (blouinartinfo.com)

Screenshot of Palmyra illustrating alleged ISIS video. (blouinartinfo.com)

Here is a three-minute video apparently from ISIS entitled “ISIS Vows Not To Bulldoze Palmyra Architecture (Only Statues),” with a text translated on-screen. The authenticity of this statement has not been confirmed but is considered likely. The Blouinartinfo Blogs article that contains the video also quotes a passage from an essay by Stephennie Mulder, associate professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at University of Texas at Austin, that addresses the question of how we should balance humanitarian concerns and cultural concerns. Very interesting material, and possibly hopeful within the context of an extraordinarily dangerous and distressing situation.

About David Brussat

This blog was begun in 2009 as a feature of the Providence Journal, where I was on the editorial board and wrote a weekly column of architecture criticism for three decades. Architecture Here and There fights the style wars for classical architecture and against modern architecture, no holds barred. History Press asked me to write and in August 2017 published my first book, "Lost Providence." I am now writing my second book. My freelance writing on architecture and other topics addresses issues of design and culture locally and globally. I am a member of the board of the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, which bestowed an Arthur Ross Award on me in 2002. I work from Providence, R.I., where I live with my wife Victoria, my son Billy and our cat Gato. If you would like to employ my writing and editing to improve your work, please email me at my consultancy, dbrussat@gmail.com, or call 401.351.0457. Testimonial: "Your work is so wonderful - you now enter my mind and write what I would have written." - Nikos Salingaros, mathematician at the University of Texas, architectural theorist and author of many books.
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2 Responses to Hopeful video from ISIS?

  1. Jack says:

    Reblogged this on Launch Port – The Open Door Business Blog and commented:
    I wouldn’t trust the bastards with a single word they say. They are by nature liars and murderers.

    I’d like to believe them about this but their record is clear, and considering their murderous nature I am unimpressed by any statements they make. Words are, after all, merely wind.

    Like

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