Hobby Lobby's Smuggled Artifacts Will Be Returned To Iraq

It appears that Hobby Lobby, good Christian libertarian organization that it is, is a smuggling operation. Well - to be fair at least in part. When they are not taking away women's reproductive health care they are collecting illegally gotten artifacts.

Nearly 4,000 ill-gotten artifacts will be returned to Iraq on Wednesday, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says. The ancient objects were bought by Hobby Lobby, a national chain of arts and crafts stores, then smuggled into the United States in violation of federal law.

See, the Iraqi People, aren't considered 'real' people because of their religious preference so it's okay to exploit their heritage. Good Christian people that they are.

An "expert on cultural property law" had warned Hobby Lobby that artifacts from Iraq, including cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals, could be stolen from archaeological sites. The expert also told the company to search its collections for objects of Iraqi origin and make sure that those materials were properly identified. But despite that warning Hobby Lobby arranged to purchase thousands of antiquities — including cuneiform tablets and bricks, clay bullae and cylinder seals — for $1.6 million.

It gets better ...

A museum tied to Hobby Lobby opened in Washington, D.C., last November. The Museum of the Bible, which spans 430,000 square-foot in what was once a refrigerated warehouse, received $201 million in artifacts from Hobby Lobby, and rents storage space in Oklahoma from the company.

Great way to start a museum = kinda like the colonial powers of old started their's.

www.npr.org...

It's sad, but maybe some of the artifacts survived because they were stolen, otherwise the lovers of culture of Isis would have dinamite 'em if they got in their grasp.

a reply to: Indigent

great point.

the best way to preserve antiquities is to put them in the hands of people that will cherish and take care of them.

a reply to: Indigent

I recall an interview with the director of the Iraqi National Museum at the time of the Iraqi war (#43) begging the US occupation to secure the heritage of his country - the heritage of, arguably, western civilization. They did nothing, just allowed the looting to continue.

Had museum officials not hidden 8,366 of the most valuable artifacts in a safe place known only to them, this event might have been a catastrophe for cultural heritage in Iraq. For a while, no one knew for certain how much damage had been done; I was with a team of U.S. archaeologists who arrived to assess the situation. Most of the museum’s estimated 170,000 artifacts were eventually found to be safe. The rampage had earned front-page headlines across the world. It was entirely preventable.

www.archaeology.org...

Yep - scarasm - no iraqi cared to guard the priceless pieces.

But most, if not all the pieces, 'acquired' by Hobby Lobby are believed to be from dig sites around the country. No security for them either.

a reply to: FyreByrd

See, the Iraqi People, aren't considered 'real' people because of their religious preference so it's okay to exploit their heritage. Good Christian people that they are.

FYI, Obama bombed seven Muslim countries, four more than Bush... It's not religion or politics, it's America. I see your blaring partisan angle, and I can assure you both sides are pro occupation of the Middle East.

a reply to: FyreByrd

It's good to see someone making the effort to do something about it. Good on them.

originally posted by: FyreByrd
See, the Iraqi People, aren't considered 'real' people because of their religious preference so it's okay to exploit their heritage.

I'm not seeing any mention of that hyperbole anywhere in the article or the DOJ document it links to.

As an aside, how did the fundamentalist Muslims in Afghanistan's Taliban leadership (in Afghaistan and Pakistan), ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, the Jordanian Arab Legion in Old City Jerusalem, treat antiquities that were born out of cultures with different religious beliefs than their own? But yeah, sure, Christianity that preserved the artifacts rather than destroying them is the problem here.

So Christians buying these objects are bad.

But how about the Muslim and Jewish dealers that sold them?

a reply to: FyreByrd

This is not Hobby Lobby's doing, this was the supplier....
This is an obvious fact for anyone in the real business world.

Hobby Lobby did not receive all of the 5,500 pieces that it bought. According to the stipulations in the settlement, the company has agreed to notify the government if it learns the whereabouts of any of those other artifacts. It also agreed to turn over any pieces that it receives. "We should have exercised more oversight and carefully questioned how the acquisitions were handled," said Hobby Lobby President Steve Green in written statement.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
So Christians buying these objects are bad.

But how about the Muslim and Jewish dealers that sold them?

No, but Christians tho, amirite?

originally posted by: sine.nomine

originally posted by: Bluntone22
So Christians buying these objects are bad.

But how about the Muslim and Jewish dealers that sold them?

No, but Christians tho, amirite?

After all , they were Arab CHRISTIAN artifacts.
That does exist , ya know.
Less than what it used to though.

Hobby Lobby saving history of the great Iraqi dynasties!

Thanks for the heads up OP!

originally posted by: Butterfinger
Hobby Lobby saving history of the great Iraqi dynasties!

Thanks for the heads up OP!

Hehe, just giving you notice that I'm stealing that.

"Great Iraqi Dynasties".

How can you not love that?

originally posted by: Indigent
It's sad, but maybe some of the artifacts survived because they were stolen, otherwise the lovers of culture of Isis would have dinamite 'em if they got in their grasp.

This is probably true. Look at what they did to Palmyra in Syria. Many of those artifacts would likely have been burned/smashed/etc by now if they hadn't been smuggled out of Iraq.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

You are seeing things that aren't there. This was not a US partisan piece, I only mentioned #43 as he was in power at the time of Iraqi War #2.

I agree that this is an 'ugly americian' issue not a factional one.

originally posted by: burdman30ott6

originally posted by: FyreByrd
See, the Iraqi People, aren't considered 'real' people because of their religious preference so it's okay to exploit their heritage.

I'm not seeing any mention of that hyperbole anywhere in the article or the DOJ document it links to.

As an aside, how did the fundamentalist Muslims in Afghanistan's Taliban leadership (in Afghaistan and Pakistan), ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, the Jordanian Arab Legion in Old City Jerusalem, treat antiquities that were born out of cultures with different religious beliefs than their own? But yeah, sure, Christianity that preserved the artifacts rather than destroying them is the problem here.

As I'm seeing no mention of red herring distraction in yours.

a reply to: burntheships

As the article states, Hobby Lobby was warned of the hazards and decided to do this anyway. They knew full well what they were doing.

It's not theft if it's for Jesus!!!

Good libertarian christianity.

a reply to: FyreByrd

I get it...you are an atheist and do not shop at Hobby Lobby... OK

what many seem to be missing is that Isis is the one selling the artifacts in many cases, so by buying them hobby lobby was providing funding to them??

www.nbcnews.com...
the video starts with a different story but it doesn't even last a minute before the are talking about Isis and the artifacts that they are selling.

a reply to: FyreByrd


People would be much more willing to add to the thread if you could have restrained yourself from mocking Christianity every other sentence and stuck to the facts.

Heck I am not even a practicing Christian and I am married to a practicing pagan but your non stop vitriol thrown at the religion of the owners of the company rather than the acts of the company really take away from the thread and will inhibit much productive commentary on the thread as it will devolve into people attacking or defending Christianity.

Well done you sabotaged your own thread by failing to contain yourself, in a rush to claim the moral high ground.