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2017.01.003. SH. SULEYMANOVA. POLITICAL DISCOURSE OF ISLAM IN THE 21st CENTURY // "2 Bigievskiye Chteniya -2015. Moslem Thought in the 21 Century: the Unity of Tradition and Renewal: proceedings of the 2 International Scientific-educational Conf. St. Petersburg, May 17-20, 2015", Moscow, 2016, P. 243-250.
Keywords: Islam, religious extremism, media, politics.
Sh. Suleymanova,
Dr. Sc. (Political), Professor,
the Institute of Public Administration and Civil
Service, the Russian Presidential Academy
of National Economy and Public
Administration under the President
of the Russian Federation
At the present stage the significance of the religious factor in politics has actualized notably. Different political actors use religious factor as a resource for achieving political goals and in political rhetoric too, predetermining diversification of political subjects as well. The possibility of using the concept of "religious extremism" appears in this context as one of the forms of extremist activity, the content of which is always directed towards the domination of some subjects over others.
Religiosity interventions of other cultures, existing in different forms, act as a factor of radicalization and politicization of a religion, which, as the most ancient, conservative and stable element of culture is designed to perform in society the function aimed at protecting traditional values. Today in Russia the manifestations of religious extremism are largely the result of purposeful influence over the existing spiritual foundations of the society.
The cultural-civilizational specificity of Russia, the centuries-old traditions of peaceful coexistence of different religions make one of the main obstacles to the spread of religious extremism. However, it should be noted that the lack
of a well-defined policy, including the state policy, in the sphere of reporting the religious relations in the media contributes to the growing inter-religious tension. The capacity of the media is used by different political actors in different directions, which implies the possibility of both constructive and destabilizing effects. The main channels of dissemination of the ideas of extremism in modern Russia are traditional print publications, religious-propaganda books.
Using the media and Internet resources simplifies dissemination of the ideas of extremism, providing almost unlimited opportunities for dissemination of extremist ideas and slogans by different political subjects. The pendency of the question of delimitation of the religious and the secular aspects in the political space in contemporary Russia and definition of the boundaries of their applicability lies in the lack of a clear vector of using the media, as well as its policies.
Ambiguous approaches to the definition of the content of the principle of secularism and characteristic features of a secular state makes the problem of political and legal implementation of the principle of secularism of the state very complicated. So do different patterns of relations between the state and religious organizations. It should be noted that in a multi-religious Russian society the secular state power can be the only guarantor of focusing on the search for public consensus.
In Russia religious extremism is regarded as an integral part of political and ethnic extremism, not as an independent phenomenon. Interpretation of the emergence of religious extremism in Russian politics offers a variety of opinions: from the impact of foreign anti-Russian forces, including the use of intelligence and subversive services of foreign states, to internal causes: the difficult socio-economic situation, the spiritual and moral crisis, etc.
The majority of Russian citizens, to the greatest extent, see potential extremists in the adherents of Islam under the influence of the military conflicts in the North Caucasus and the terrorist
acts in Russian cities associated with the adepts of the so-called "radical Islam". It should be also noted that in mass consciousness of Russians the first place in the terms of public danger belongs to the representatives of destructive religious movements, usually of foreign origin, whose practice demonstrate physical and psychological violence. However, the followers of different religions and ideologies in the vast majority do not take the infidels as potential extremists, which fact paves the way for their constructive cooperation.
The history of Islam in the territory of modern Russia counts over 1400 years. Throughout the course of the Russian history Moslems have quite peacefully lived next to Orthodox Christians for their religious mentality was characterized by absence of religious radicalism, even in the absence of normal conditions for the confession of faith. Russian Moslems have always honorably fulfilled their civil duties, while remaining committed to their faith. It should be also noted that in Russia Moslems have all the opportunities, much more than in many Moslem countries, to live in accordance with the canons of Islam.
In Moslem countries, the problems of education are the key ones for understanding the situation of the modern world. The countries of the area of traditional spread of Islam are not only the youngest ones but also those who still have serious problems in the field of education and literacy, and the States of Western Europe and the United States toss a historical challenge to them. And for Russia, which for the reasons of history and geographical location is between the Christian West and the Islamic East, these issues are vital.
Lack of sufficient knowledge of the creeds of their religion and of a clear ideological position makes people defenseless against spiritual aggression of new religious movements. From the part of new religious movements, missionary work and proselytizing are widely used as a means of a deliberate policy of destruction of the spiritual space of the Russian civilization by
anti-Russian forces. And it is aimed against the traditional Russian religions.
The use of legal political tactics in the activities of extremist organizations makes them more effective in the long term. Destructive religious organizations operating in the territory of Russia receive financial, methodological, informational support from foreign funds and extremist centers and use financial opportunities of the "shadow" economy. It must be also noted that training of young citizens of Russia in foreign religious educational institutions under the educational programs that do not conform to traditional religious faiths, make the policy of combating religious extremism vulnerable.
The comparative analysis of the socio-political situation in certain regions of the country shows that the political implications of religious relations directly depend on the activities of state government institutions. The effectiveness of policies for combating religious extremism depends on the level of public confidence in the activities of public authorities. The activities of destructive religious organizations of the radical wing seem more dangerous in political and spiritual projections, first of all, those of non-traditional religious movements.
The traditional Islam in Russia having no strictly institutionalized hierarchical structure, in the recent years expresses its concern at the emerging, in a very acute form, of the problem of finding ways to preserve their own national, religious identity and traditional social institutions.
The modern West is extremely secularized and in the context of erosion of criteria and identifications cannot rely on its traditional religion, Christianity. The pride of place goes to liberal understanding of the mechanisms of functioning of society, when freedom of expression appears for holiness and dogma. It also leads to the encounter with any form of traditionalism, whether Islamic, Catholic or Orthodox. That is, the divide is not between Islam and Christianity, but between the conservative tradition
and its liberal negation. And each of the sides of this conflict tends to behave still more assertive and dogmatic.
However, at the present stage, given the humankind faces global challenges related to demography, resource use, ecology, nuclear weapons, the world more than ever needs unity and solidarity, joint actions of all peoples and countries. And in such a situation the unilateral commitment of one or several countries or a separate civilization to the attainment of world leadership and imposition of a unipolar world system can lead to disaster.
There is a need to active use of the potential of the media in implementation of the state policy aimed at neutralizing the negative factors, influencing spiritual development of the society. This applies in particular to electronic information networks and the potential of traditional religions, it is important there is a clear focus for cooperation of state government institutions with all the Russian institutionalized confessions, which, together with the state, should undertake social responsibility for believers
The author of the abstract - V. Schensnovich
2017.01.004. M. Yahyaev. FACTORS OF REPRODUCTION OF EXTREMISM AND TERRORISM IN MODERN RUSSIA: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS. // " Islamovedenie", Makhachkala, 2016, № 3, P. 26-39.
Keywords: extremism, terrorism, prevention, fight, religion, Islam, the ideology, the government, civil society, social destructiveness.
M. Yahyaev,
Dr. Sc. (Philosophy), Professor
of the Department of Psychology
and Philosophy, Dagestan State University
The author analyzes the essence of the social and personal destructiveness of extremism and terrorism, solves the
