INTERVIEW
Back from the brink: University of Mosul and life after ISIS
CILIP Conference and Expo is taking place in Liverpool on 7 and 8 July, and here Rob Green speaks to keynote speaker Sayf Al Ashqar, Director of the Central Library at the University of Mosul, about how the library has literally risen from the ashes.
MOSUL is Iraq’s second largest city after Baghdad. Situated on the Tigris River, close to the northern border with Syria and Turkey, it has a population of some 1.6 million people. Settlements in the area can be traced back thousands of years, and it grew to be one of the most important cities in the region, coveted by dynasties over the ensuing centuries before becoming part of Iraq in 1918 at the end of First World War. In 1932 Iraq gained its independence and was ruled by the Hashemite Monarchy, which lasted until 1958. Two decades of civilian and military rule followed, and it was during this period, in 1967, that the library was built – opening up new oppor- tunities to support the university (which was founded in 1921) and education in the region.
In 1979 Saddam Hussain gained control of Iraq, and it was under his regime that a US- led coalition entered the country in a bid to unseat him as Iraq’s President. Despite US President George W. Bush claiming a military victory in 2004, Iraqi people faced continued attacks from insurgents in the country and instability in the region led to the creation of ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). This group was to lay siege to Mosul in 2014, and after six days of fight- ing it gained control of the city. Around half-a-million people fled Mosul, but for those who could not escape Mosul
April-May 2022
Rob Green (
rob.green@
cilip.org.uk) is Editor, Information Professional.
became a brutal and unforgiving place. Fighting began on 4 June, 2014 and by 10 June ISIS fighters had entered the city and they quickly tried to stamp their authority on the city. One of their first targets was the university and its library, which was looted and eventually burnt to the ground. Library Director Sayf Al Ashqar says the attack on the library was a clear signal from ISIS – against freedoms and against educa- tion. He says: “I was aware that they would target everything that contradicts their terrorist thinking, and I was very shocked by their terrorism, they are inhumane.” That inhumanity was felt first-hand by Sayf and his family when his father, an academic in Mosul, was murdered by ISIS fighters. The destruction of the library and cruelty of ISIS, was no surprise after losing
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