As Muslim communities celebrated Eid al Fitr last weekend, mosques across the globe welcomed worshippers for the celebration–except at Iraq’s Great Mosque of al-Nuri, a thousand-year-old structure recently reduced to rubble in the battle for Mosul.

Islamic State’s Amaq news agency has claimed the mosque was destroyed by a U.S. airstrike, but both U.S. forces and the Iraqi army have stated that ISIS militants destroyed the mosque as they retreated from Mosul. Video evidence shows the blast that toppled the building exploding from within multiple levels of the minaret rather than from the impact of an airstrike.

The al-Nuri Mosque has joined the long list of monuments and historic sites destroyed in the Middle East over the past twenty years. Many cultural heritage sites in the Middle East have been systematically erased, from the Buddha statues of Bamiyan destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan to the dozens of temples and historic cities that have been decimated by ISIS over the past three years. The justification for this destruction is often that the ancient sites celebrate idolatry or polytheism but sometimes, as in the case of the al-Nuri Mosque, the intentional destruction of the site is not motivated by a higher cause–a site that represent generations of tradition and history is simply seen as expendable. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has claimed that blowing up the al-Nuri Mosque was a declaration of defeat and a clear sign that ISIS is losing the battle for control of the city–but the destruction of the mosque is still a heavy blow to Mosul, as Iraqi military leaders had privately hoped to liberate the mosque and celebrate Eid al Fitr within its hallowed halls.

The leveling of historic sites is often written off as “collateral damage” but an important International Criminal Court case in 2016 could change that. An Islamic militant who destroyed the shrines of Timbuktu was sentenced to nine years in prison after the ICC labeled cultural destruction a war crime. ISIS militants who are captured would of course be put on trial for far more violent and severe crimes than cultural destruction but consider that the International Committee of the Red Cross’ definition of war crimes does include “making buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes or historic monuments the object of attack, provided they are not military objectives.”

The destruction of the al-Nuri Mosque and sites like it do impact the cultural legacy of a nation and should be treated as serious crimes. During the bombings of World War II, cultural sites were burnt to the ground every night but we are now in a different era of warfare and should set different standards. Mosul’s air, water, and land have been polluted and torn apart by the battle for the city but Iraqi forces will seek to rebuild once they have expelled ISIS forces. A structure like a large mosque is important for the rebuilding process on a logistical level as it would serve as an ideal place to set up shelters, food and clothing distribution and a headquarters for relief efforts–but we must also think beyond the practical. The al-Nuri Mosque was a symbol of a shared identity and heritage that defined Mosul–and the militants who destroyed it are committing a form of cultural genocide.

Jillian Sequeira

Jillian Sequeira was a member of the College of William and Mary Class of 2016, with a double major in Government and Italian. When she’s not blogging, she’s photographing graffiti around the world and worshiping at the altar of Elon Musk and all things Tesla. Contact Jillian at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com

The post Should We View the Destruction of the al-Nuri Mosque as a War Crime? appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Hillary Is Disappointed, and So Are We

Last night Hillary Clinton spoke publicly for the first time since losing the election to Donald Trump. She has stayed out of the public eye since last Tuesday but speaking at a Children’s Defense Fund event in Washington, she said “I know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. I am, too–more than I can ever express.”

Just watched Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Children’s Defense Fund’s awards ceremony. Oh America. You made a monumental mistake.

— kc wildmoon (@wildmoon) November 17, 2016

“There have been a few times this past week when all I wanted to do was just to curl up with a good book or our dogs, and never leave the house again,” she said. We feel the same, Hillz.

via GIPHY

But she ended on a positive note, saying that America is still the greatest country in the world, and: “This is still the place where anyone can beat the odds. It’s up to each and every one of us to keep working to make America better and stronger and fairer.”

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: November 17, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Ahmad Khan Rahami with terror charges for planting explosives in New Jersey and a bomb in New York that injured 31 people. The charges include use of a weapon of mass destruction. By Wednesday he was still in the hospital recovering from the ten gunshot wounds he received when he was arrested in Linden, New Jersey, on Monday.

Federal agents wanted to question Rahami, but he was allegedly not cooperating. It is unclear if his lack of cooperation was simply due to his injuries. Investigators are examining his trip to Pakistan a couple of years ago, and whether he got any money or training from any extremist organizations.

Rahami was born in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. as a young child. He previously worked as an unarmed night guard at an AP administrative technology office, where he talked a lot about politics and expressed sympathy for the Taliban and contempt for the U.S. military.

‘The sound of bombs will be heard in your streets,’ New York attacker vowed in journal https://t.co/BxaNgD0nSr

— The Independent (@Independent) September 21, 2016

The complaints filed against him reveal that he bought bomb ingredients on eBay and tried them out in a backyard—as shown on a video on a relative’s cellphone only two days before the attack in New York. He also kept a journal in which he had written down messages including that he would rather die as a martyr than be caught and that bombs would resound in the streets.

1. Authorities have published photo showing an excerpt of Ahmad Khan Rahami’s notebook where he notes inspiration from both ISIS & Al Qaeda pic.twitter.com/sZQcsY8Izm

— Lisa Daftari (@LisaDaftari) September 21, 2016

There were also references to Osama bin Laden and other well-known terrorists such as Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical cleric who has incited acts of violence, and Nidal Hasan, the former Army officer who was behind the shooting in Fort Hood in 2009.

Rahami was investigated for terrorism as early as 2014, when his father notified the FBI that his son was “doing real bad” and had stabbed his brother and hit his mother. He didn’t want to accuse his son of terrorism, but said that he was hanging out with the wrong kinds of people. The federal agency investigated Rahami for two months but didn’t find anything serious enough to charge him.

Also on Tuesday, a New Jersey court granted Rahami’s ex-girlfriend Maria Mena full custody of their child, saying there was a risk for irreparable harm to the child in the case of continued contact with Rahami. He was prohibited from having any more contact with his child. It was also revealed that he owed Mena more than $3,000 in child support.

The FBI questioned Rahami’s current wife in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, who said she had no idea about her husband’s violent plans.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Federal Terror Charges Filed Against New York Bomber Ahmad Rahami appeared first on Law Street.