Islamic State selling looted 2,000-year-old artifacts on eBay
March 14, 2015 9:17 pm By Robert Spencer 17 Comments
ebayartifactsIslamicStateThe Islamic State doesn’t value these artifacts, as they are the products of jahiliyya, the pre-Islamic period of ignorance. But they don’t mind making money from the Infidels in exchange for those that they haven’t destroyed.
“2,000-year-old artefacts looted by ISIS from ancient sites in Iraq and Syria are being sold on EBAY,” by Jack Crone, MailOnline, March 14, 2015:
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2,000-year-old artefacts looted from ancient sites in Iraq and Syria by ISIS are being sold on eBay as jihadis cash in on relics dating back millennia.
Jewellery, ceramics and coins plundered from museums within ISIS territory are known to pass between criminal gangs before turning up in Gulf States and later appearing on trading websites.
Two coins from Apamea, in western Syria, which date back to Ancient Greece have appeared on eBay with price tags of £57 and £90.
This comes after entire Roman mosaics were ripped up by a bulldozer from the ancient site.
The trade in antiquities is a profitable business for the terror group and is thought to be worth tens of millions of pounds, The Times reports.
As well as looting ancient artefacts, ISIS is known to levy a ‘tax on valuable and historical items found in its territory to ensure the group’s central administration benefits financially from raids on museums.
The number of artefacts flowing from the war zone is so great that their market price has actually fallen.
It is believed that ISIS takes orders from dealers in neighbouring countries, with small items such as coins easy to smuggle across borders due to the number of people being displaced.
Using smuggling routes and links to criminal gangs in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, the ancient treasures can be packed in with cargoes of oil, drugs and weapons as they move across borders.
eBay insist that they pay attention to the authorities.
A spokesman for the company told The Times: ‘We remove items from sale based on their advice, support law enforcement investigations and are always prepared to investigate listings causing concern.’
Axel Plathe, director of Unesco’s Iraq office, told The Times: ‘We are seeing a more systematic approach to looting under ISIS, linked to generating revenue….
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
