Why the irony of British Museum thefts is not lost on nations awaiting return of looted artifacts

From the Benin Bronzes to the Elgin Marbles, the British Museum in London is stacked with the spoils of imperial expansionism despite demands from aggrieved nations to return their artifacts. (Shutterstock)
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Updated 30 August 2023
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Why the irony of British Museum thefts is not lost on nations awaiting return of looted artifacts

  • The museum’s director has resigned over stolen artifacts; but critics say the institution’s entire legacy is built upon theft
  • From the Benin Bronzes to the Elgin Marbles, the museum’s collection is stacked with the spoils of imperial plunder

IRBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan/CAIRO/LONDON: The British Museum in London, one of the world’s foremost exhibitors of historical and cultural artifacts, is mired in controversy over the theft of valuable items from its collections and a failure by museum officials to properly investigate, forcing its director to resign.

The irony of the British Museum falling victim to thievery has not been lost on those nations around the globe who have long accused the institution of displaying — and refusing to return — a vast bounty of treasures looted over several centuries of British imperial expansion.

The controversy has once again raised pertinent questions over the museum’s right to exclusively possess and exhibit such artifacts from various ancient civilizations and countries worldwide when it cannot guarantee their preservation or protection.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s most renowned archaeologist and former minister of state for antiquities affairs, told Arab News: “What happened in the British Museum is a crime by all standards.

“The presence of Egyptian antiquities in American or European museums or anywhere in the world does not mean that they own these antiquities.”

He said such items would be far better protected, carefully catalogued, and properly restored in their place of origin.

Up to 2,000 artifacts, ranging from gold jewelry to rare gems and semi-precious stones dating from the 15th century B.C. to the 19th century, were stolen from the British Museum’s storeroom over several years, aided and abetted by a lack of proper cataloguing or registration.

The museum’s director, Hartwig Fischer, said he would step down after admitting failures in investigating the thefts. However, his resignation has done little to assuage the concerns of those nations with precious artifacts in the museum’s possession.

“The theft of artifacts from the British Museum and the resulting investigation of its former director is considered a crime against the whole world,” Hawass added.

The ex-politician has in recent years made significant archaeological discoveries throughout Egypt, including a major find at Saqqara necropolis in October 2020.

He said: “Because stealing antiquities from a museum in this way is unreasonable, I ask that Egypt issue a popular demand that this museum does not deserve to display Egyptian antiquities in it.

“It is owned by Egypt, and Egypt must protect its property from theft or improper restoration operations.

“We affirm that the presence of the Rosetta Stone inside the British Museum is a grave mistake because this stone is the icon of Egyptian antiquities, and its place must be in Egypt.

“I also demand that UNESCO and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities hold an international conference to find out the possibility of withdrawing our antiquities from the British Museum,” Hawass added.

A British Museum spokesperson told Arab News it had “received no formal request from the Egyptian government to repatriate the Rosetta Stone.”

The spokesperson said: “The British Museum works with partners all over the world including with colleagues throughout Egypt on projects, exhibitions, and research and we enjoy a long-standing and collaborative relationship with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.”




Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s most renowned archaeologist and former minister of state for antiquities affairs, told Arab News: “What happened in the British Museum is a crime by all standards. (AFP/File)

The museum acknowledged the sensitivities surrounding the restitution of items “which are looked after” by the institution and others like it around the world, the spokesperson added.

“The British Museum understands and recognizes the significance of the issues surrounding the return of objects, and works with communities, colleagues, and museums across the globe to share the collection as widely as possible.

“The debate about restitution raises important and nuanced questions around objects and collections which are looked after in many countries around the world.

“The British Museum fully acknowledges the complex histories of objects within the collection and recognizes our responsibility to engage audiences about their interconnected history in the modern world,” the spokesperson said.

In relation to the recent thefts, museum chair George Osborne, a former British finance minister, was quoted by Reuters denying any suggestion there had been a cover-up in light of the museum rejecting a warning two years ago.

In an Aug. 16 press release, he said the museum’s trustees “have taken decisive action to deal with the situation” and “set up an independent review into what happened and lessons to learn, and used all the disciplinary powers available to us to deal with the individual we believe to be responsible.”




The controversy has once again raised pertinent questions over the museum’s right to exclusively possess and exhibit such artifacts from various ancient civilizations and countries worldwide when it cannot guarantee their preservation or protection. (Shutterstock)

Osborne admitted the possibility of “potential group think” in the institution, which could not even conceive of an insider pilfering from its vast and priceless collection. He also conceded that the thefts had “certainly been damaging” to the museum’s reputation as a trusted place to store and exhibit many valuable relics.

His admission may seem like an understatement. After all, the museum has justified the possession of its vast collection on the basis that it is safer in the museum’s hands compared to many of their areas of origin, especially conflict-ridden parts of Africa and the Middle East.

That justification, at times, appeared to be validated in recent years, at least on a surface level. For example, when Daesh rampaged across Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2019, it intentionally destroyed numerous artifacts in the Mosul Museum and sold others it had looted from such sites on the black market to fund its terrorist activities.

Iraq has since rebuilt the Mosul Museum following the city’s liberation in July 2017 and recently reopened the national museum in Baghdad, which was infamously looted in 2003.

In May, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid announced the recovery of 6,000 artifacts, dating back to several phases of Iraqi civilizations, that had been on loan to the British Museum in the 1920s for study but were never returned.




Benin Bronzes. (British Museum)

Similar cases of the destruction have occurred elsewhere. In 2012, Al-Qaeda overran the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali and intentionally destroyed its centuries-old manuscripts. UNESCO has dubbed such intentional destruction of world heritage sites and artifacts “cultural cleansing.”

When he was mayor of London in 2015, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pointed to such cultural cleansing as a justification for, among other things, the removal of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Greece two centuries ago, which remain in the British Museum to the present day.

His reference to the Elgin Marbles, in particular, was bizarre since Daesh had overrun large parts of the Middle East, not Greece.

The sculptures were removed from the Parthenon’s wall in Athens in the early 19th century, when Greece was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, by the Seventh Earl of Elgin, an antique collector and British diplomat.

Following their removal, under questionable legal and ethical circumstances, the British government bought the artifacts and duly handed them over to the British Museum in 1816.

Their removal continues to rankle Greece and Greeks alike. When the new Acropolis Museum in Athens opened in the late 2000s, it featured a display depicting where the Elgin Marbles would be placed if Britain ever decided to return them. That display aptly demonstrated how their removal essentially continues to disfigure a world heritage site.




Hartwig Fischer, director of the museum, has resigned. (Shutterstock/File)

Assertions like Johnson’s justifying the UK retaining them more than two centuries later arguably ring hollow after the recent revelations of theft.

“We want to tell the British Museum that they cannot anymore say that Greek (cultural) heritage is more protected in the British Museum,” Despina Koutsoumba, head of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, told the BBC.

In a recent interview with the Greek newspaper To Vima, Greece’s Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni said the security questions raised by the missing objects “reinforces the permanent and just demand of our country for the definitive return” of the Elgin Marbles.

“The loss, theft, and deterioration of objects from a museum’s collections is an extremely serious and particularly sad event. In fact, when this happens from within, beyond any moral and criminal responsibility, a major question arises regarding the credibility of the museum organization itself,” she added.




Gweagal shield. (British Museum)

The return of artifacts from UK museums is not without precedent. The Benin Bronzes — thousands of looted items in European collections — are in the process of being repatriated to Nigeria, having been taken by British forces during the sacking of Benin City in 1897.

The British Museum is also home to several other contested objects, including Aboriginal artifacts from Australia, the Maqdala collection from Ethiopia, Hoa Hakananai’a of Easter Island, and the Cyrus Cylinder of the Persian Empire.

Iran’s last shah extolled the cylinder as proof of Persia’s progression, invariably describing it as the first bill of rights or human rights charter thousands of years before America’s.

In a clear reference to the British Museum, he once told a British reporter: “You have the real scroll in your museum. You took it from us.”

Events of the past week and revelations of negligence potentially dating back many years make the present moment ideal for objectively reassessing the wisdom of having so many of the world’s treasures and historical artifacts under one roof.


In Tunisia, snails inch toward replacing red meat as people turn to cheaper protein

Updated 13 sec ago
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In Tunisia, snails inch toward replacing red meat as people turn to cheaper protein

Snails have been consumed in Tunisia for more than seven millenia
Low in fat and high in iron, calcium and magnesium, snails offer both nutritional value and economic relief

AKOUDA, Tunisia: In fields outside their hometown in central Tunisia, an increasing number of unemployed young men are seeking a new way to make a living, picking snails off of rocks and leaves and collecting them in large plastic bags to take to the local market to be sold.
More and more people, they say, are buying the shelled wanderers as the price of market staples remains high and out of reach for many families.
“They’re profitable, beneficial and quite in demand,” said Karim, a 29-year-old snail seller from the village of Akouda said.
Snails have been consumed in Tunisia for more than seven millenia, according to research published last year in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. In today’s world considered mostly a bistro delicacy, they’re again gaining traction in Tunisia as a practical alternative to red meat — a protein-rich substitute that pairs perfectly with salt, spices, and bold seasonings.
The snails are a lifeline for some in Tunisia, where youth unemployment now hovers above 40 percent and inflation remains high, three years after spiking to its highest levels in decades. A lack of opportunity has fueled social discontent throughout the country and, increasingly, migration to Europe.
Low in fat and high in iron, calcium and magnesium, snails offer both nutritional value and economic relief. In a country where unemployment runs high and median wages remain low, they cost about half as much as beef per kilogram and often less when sold by the bowl.
“Snails are better for cooking than lamb. If lamb meat costs 60 dinars ($19.30), a bowl of snails is five dinars ($1.60),” a man named Mohammed said at the Akouda market.
As the price of meat and poultry continues to rise, more Tunisians are turning to affordable, alternative sources of protein. Beyond their economic appeal, these substitutes are also drawing interest for their environmental benefits. Scientists say they offer a more sustainable solution, producing far fewer carbon emissions and avoiding the deforestation linked to traditional livestock farming.
Wahiba Dridi, who serves snails at her restaurant in Tunis, cooks them in a traditional fashion with peppers and spices. She said they were popular throughout this year’s Ramadan, which ended last week. Though Tunisian Muslims traditionally eat red meat at the meals during which they break their daily fasts, a kilogram of snails costs less than 28 Tunisian dinars ($9) compared to beef, which costs 55 dinars per kilogram ($18).
“If people knew the value of snails they would eat them all year long,” Dridi said.

US sending Israel 20,000 assault rifles that Biden had delayed, say sources

Updated 04 April 2025
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US sending Israel 20,000 assault rifles that Biden had delayed, say sources

  • The rifle sale is a small transaction next to the billions of dollars worth of weapons that Washington supplies to Israel
  • The March 6 congressional notification said the US government had taken into account “political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations“

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration moved forward with the sale of more than 20,000 US-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the matter, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe Biden had delayed over concerns they could be used by extremist Israeli settlers.
The State Department sent a notification to Congress on March 6 for the $24 million sale, saying the end user would be the Israeli National Police, according to the document.
The rifle sale is a small transaction next to the billions of dollars worth of weapons that Washington supplies to Israel. But it drew attention when the Biden administration delayed the sale over concerns that the weapons could end up in the hands of Israeli settlers, some of whom have carried out attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities accused of committing violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has seen a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians.
On his first day in office on January 20, Trump issued an executive order rescinding US sanctions on Israeli settlers in a reversal of US policy. Since then, his administration has approved the sale of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel.
The March 6 congressional notification said the US government had taken into account “political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations.”
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment when asked if the administration sought assurances from Israel on the use of the weapons.

CLOSE TIES
Since a 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state, and has built settlements that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Settler violence had been on the rise prior to the eruption of the Gaza war, and has worsened since the conflict began over a year ago.
Trump has forged close ties to Netanyahu, pledging to back Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His administration has in some cases pushed ahead with Israel arms sales despite requests from Democratic lawmakers that the sales be paused until they received more information.
The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a bid to block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel over human rights concerns, voting 82-15 and 83-15 to reject two resolutions of disapproval over sales of massive bombs and other offensive military equipment.
The resolutions were offered by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
The rifle sale had been put on hold after Democratic lawmakers objected and sought information on how Israel was going to use them. The congressional committees eventually cleared the sale but the Biden administration kept the hold in place.
The latest episode in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began with a Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s campaign has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, oversees the Israeli police force. The Times of Israel newspaper in November 2023 reported that his ministry has put “a heavy emphasis on arming civilian security squads” in the aftermath of October 7 attacks.


Medecins Sans Frontieres ‘appalled’ by second staff member killed in Gaza within weeks

Updated 04 April 2025
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Medecins Sans Frontieres ‘appalled’ by second staff member killed in Gaza within weeks

  • Hussam Al Loulou died in the strike on Apr. 1 in central Gaza

GENEVA: Global medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it was appalled and saddened by the killing of one of its staff by an air strike in Gaza, the second within two weeks.


Hussam Al Loulou died in the strike on Apr. 1 in central Gaza, alongside his wife and 28-year-old daughter, the organization said.


Uganda president holds talks with South Sudanese leaders to try to avoid civil war

Updated 04 April 2025
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Uganda president holds talks with South Sudanese leaders to try to avoid civil war

  • Goc said that the country’s leadership had assured Museveni of its commitment to implement the peace agreement
  • Uganda last month deployed troops to South Sudan to support the government

NAIROBI: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni was expected to meet South Sudanese officials on the second day of his trip to the capital, Juba, as the UN has expressed concern of a renewed civil war after the main opposition leader was put under house arrest.
Museveni, who is among the guarantors of a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war, held closed-door discussions with President Salva Kiir on Thursday.
South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdallah Goc said that the country’s leadership had assured Museveni of its commitment to implement the peace agreement.
South Sudan’s political landscape remains fragile and recent violence between government troops and armed groups allied to the opposition have escalated tension.
Uganda last month deployed troops to South Sudan to support the government, but it was criticized by South Sudan’s main opposition party SPLM-IO, whose leader Riek Machar is under house arrest on charges of incitement.
In early March, the armed group loyal to Machar attacked a UN helicopter that was on a mission to evacuate government troops from the restive northern Upper Nile State.
Western countries including Germany and Norway have temporarily closed their embassies in Juba while the USand the UK have reduced embassy staff.


Turkiye wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, foreign minister says

Updated 04 April 2025
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Turkiye wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria, foreign minister says

  • Fidan said Israel’s actions in Syria were paving the way for future regional instability
  • If the new administration in Damascus wants to have “certain understandings” with Israel, then that is their own business, he added

BRUSSELS: Turkiye wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria after repeated Israeli attacks on military sites there undermined the new government’s ability to deter threats, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Friday.
In an interview on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Fidan said Israel’s actions in Syria — where the administration of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is a close Turkish ally — were paving the way for future regional instability.
If the new administration in Damascus wants to have “certain understandings” with Israel, which like Turkiye is a neighbor of Syria, then that is their own business, he added.
NATO member Turkiye has fiercely criticized Israel over its attacks on Gaza since 2023, saying they amount to a genocide against the Palestinians, and has applied to join a case at the World Court against Israel while also halting all trade.
Israel denies the genocide accusations.
The animosity between the regional powers has spilled over into Syria, with Israeli forces striking Syria for weeks since a new administration took control in Damascus. Turkiye has called the Israeli strikes an encroachment on Syrian territories, while Israel has said it would not allow any hostile forces in Syria.
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s threats of military strikes against Iran, Fidan said diplomacy was needed to resolve the dispute and that Ankara did not want to see any attack taking place against its neighbor Iran.