Back in the early years of Islam, Syria was famous for its martyrs: its shahids. Pious warriors would travel from across the Caliphate to fight on its northern frontier against the garrisons of Christian Byzantium. The men who died there for Islam were hailed by their fellow Muslims as the bravest of the brave. 'How pleasant to us,' one of them declared, 'is the fragrance of dust, and dirt, and blood flowing down our necks.' Today, young men are once again flocking to Syria to die as martyrs. Many of the Muslims who sign up to fight for Islamic State do so in the belief that those killed for Allah will attain the highest level of paradise.Khaled al-Asaad was beheaded at the archaeological site by ISIS militantsBorn and raised in Palmyra, he was head of antiquities for 40 yearsHe was devoted to the historic site writing books and excavating itThe Syrian historian even named one of his daughters Zenobia
The truth of this is impossible to know — but of one thing we can be certain: Khaled al-_, humane, learned and committed to the preservation of his country's heritage, was exactly the kind of Syrian ISIS is committed to eradicating.