The Politics of Archaeology in Islamic Nations
The Politics of Archaeology in Islamic Nations
“Who controls the past, controls the future.
Who controls the present controls the past.”
-George Orwell, 1984
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Archaeology is a subjective field of study, with myriad professional approaches and opinions concerning its role in global and national politics. At its inception, archaeology was an imperialist innovation that often harmed the continuity of antiquity in colonized nations. Therefore, as a science it must endeavor to discredit criticism and skepticism amongst modern communities. Nationalist movements in the Middle East, descendants of imperialist ideology and its repercussions, affect both beneficial and detrimental influences on archaeological research. These same nationalist groups often use their county’s patrimony to legitimize their specific represented demographic, be it religious, ethnic, or national. Determining the historical validities of varying approaches is exceedingly difficult, in that it requires political and historical neutrality beyond individual human capacity. Indeed, this is a concern that can only truly be resolved by the collective understanding of future generations concerning current archaeological practices and conclusions.
One must consider a number of factors when attempting to understand the realities of practicing archaeological research in the Middle East. Historically, there is the conflicting heritage of the science itself, which undeniably developed out the colonialist mindset of European nations during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Legally, there is cause for extreme sensitivity in dealing with excavations and artifacts in a manner that upholds national and international regulations. Publicly, there is the consideration of local communities, some of whom look favorably on uncovering their patrimony and some of whom are either wary of or fully opposed to certain areas of research, especially when conducted by foreign teams. Politically, there is the necessity of meeting governmental approval in order to excavate a site, a task that is vastly complicated and multi-faceted, and completely dependant on the policies of the individual country. Finally, there is the religious concern. Since Middle Eastern nations are primarily Muslim, whether officially or demographically, Islam informs scholarship on a variety of levels, in direct correlation with its overall position in relation to the region. In areas where fundamentalist or militarist Islam is a political and social concern, there are invariably conflicts between these groups and archaeologists.
Tags: george orwell, george orwell 1984, islamic nations, nationalist groups, nineteenth centuriesManagement Education
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