Claiming responsibility for this week’s killing spree in Tunisia, Islamic State denounced the Bardo museum complex, where 21 people were gunned down, as a “den of infidels and vice”. It was a strangely lurid description of an old palace that may once have been the scene of sybaritic indulgence, but is today known mostly for an extraordinary collection of Roman mosaics.
The museum’s meticulous celebration of Tunisia’s rich history is a direct challenge, though, to the Isis dream of a timeless caliphate cleansed of all evidence of pre-Islamic history, as well as any Muslim sites or treasures it considers sacrilegious.
The Bardo museum revels in a heritage that begins with the ancient city of Carthage – founded by Dido, a base for Hannibal, then sacked by the Romans. Centuries later, Tunisia became a centre for early Christians, then a seat of Muslim learning. A recent €10m (£7m) renovation doubled the space available for exhibitions, and the museum is meant to be a flagship attraction in efforts to draw in more tourists to enjoy the country’s cultural sites as well as its beaches.
A young curator of the Christian relics department summed up the museum’s heart when he hid 19 tourists from the marauding gunmen. Ali Eddine Hamadi came across a group of French and Tunisian visitors as he sprinted away from the attack and led them deep into the warren of galleries he knew so well.
Hidden behind a wooden door, ordered to silence by the 22-year-old, all of them survived. Hopefully, the museum’s priceless treasures and spirit have too.
