While the world was watching the Academy Awards ceremony, the people of Mosul were watching a different show. They were horrified to see ISISmembers burn the Mosul public library. Among the many thousands of books it housed, more than 8,000 rare old books and manuscripts were burned.

"ISIS militants bombed the Mosul Public Library. They used improvised explosive devices," said Ghanim al-Ta'an, the director of the library.Notables in Mosul tried to persuade ISIS members to spare the library, but they failed.

The former assistant director of the library Qusai All Faraj said that the Mosul Public Library was established in 1921, the same year that sawthe birth of the modern Iraq. Among its lost collections were manuscripts from the eighteenth century, Syriac books printed in Iraq's firstprinting house in the nineteenth century, books from the Ottoman era, Iraqi newspapers from the early twentieth century and some old antiques like anastrolabe and sand glass used by ancient Arabs. The library had hosted the personal libraries of more than 100 notable families from Mosul over thelast century.

During the US led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the library was looted and destroyed by mobs. However, the people living nearby managed to save mostof its collections and rich families bought back the stolen books and they were returned to the library, All Faraj added.

Iraq, the cradle of civilization, the birthplace of agriculture and writing and the home of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Arabcivilizations had never witnessed such an assault on its rich cultural heritage since the Mongol era in the Middle Ages.

To read the complete articles, see:
ISIS Burns 8000 Rare Books and Manuscripts in Mosul(http://finance.yahoo.com/news/isis-burns-8000-rare-books-030900856.html)
8,000 Books Burned by ISIS in Massive IraqiLibricide (http://news.artnet.com/art-world/8000-books-burned-by-isis-in-massive-iraqi-libricide-267932)