From Ancients to Dust... : Through Veneration and Condemnation: Exploring of the role of Cultural Heritage and Iconoclasm

Abstract: This essay attempts to discover a correlation between a perceived veneration of an inherent value of the cultural heritage which is enlightened in the face of the iconoclastic acts of IS (Islamic State). Firstly, the essay establishes how UNESCO could be perceived as a Social System which educates its central binary codes through communication. The codes central to the System are cultural preservation and cultural destruction. Through examining the official documents of the System and analysing their content through Content Analysis, the essay delineates how an inherent value is manifested in cultural heritage. Further it examines whether the System is successful in communicating and implementing its positive binary code into its surrounding environment. The conclusions are that the System aspires to connect what it deems an “outstanding universal value” with an inherent value of democratic human rights. It is also concluded that the System is successful in implementing its positive core binary code into its environment. However, there are indications that this efficiency could dramatically decrease in the future, thereby rendering the System’s value as an ideological standpoint less valuable in the face of theologically motivated iconoclasms.