By Anne-Marie Carstens*
The practices by which the Islamic State relies on antiquities
trafficking as a profit-making enterprise vary.
In some instances, militants
might engage directly in the armed looting of well-known but under-excavated
archaeological sites. Yet reports
also state that the Islamic State leadership has instituted a system that
requires it to devote far less manpower to the looting of ancient sites. These reports maintain that the
Islamic State has implemented a license-and-tax regime in some regions to
cement its authority and legitimacy, granting licenses to looters in exchange
for a tax on the proceeds from the finds.
The tax, known as a khums tax,
has a basis in Islamic history and traditionally was paid to authorities for profits
derived from the ground.
