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Eldar Kasayev,
political scientist
POLITICIZATION OF ISLAM IN RUSSIA
For the last time, the clergy of Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and a number of other Islamic states greatly intensified their missionary activities on the territory of Russia. The general consolidation of Islamic fundamentalism in the compact settlements of Muslims in the North Caucasus, in the Volga Basin and in Ural is one of the consequences of these activities.
First of all, the religious renaissance resulted in a big growth of the infrastructure. For the last years, only in Tatarstan over a thousand mosques were built, in Dagestan - over two thousand (according to unofficial data - up to five thousand) mosques, in Bashkortostan -about six hundred mosques.
The national system of religious Islamic education is unable to train rapidly qualified cadres, but the holy places can not be left unoccupied, and they have to be imported. These "unlicensed foreign deliveries" mainly from the Near and the Middle East cause concern not only of the authorities but also of Muslims themselves. Why?
It seems that the foreign assistance in building mosques, publishing religious literature, training clergy cadres, creating education institutions had given essential support to Russian Muslims to master spiritual-moral values and theological foundations of Islam.
However, some international Islamic organizations, rendering assistance to Muslims in Russia, due to their rather great politicization carried out propaganda not only of Islamic values but also of the idea that, performing their religious duty they should struggle for independence and, consequently, for creation of a sovereign Islamic state within Russia.
With due account of prognoses that by the year of 2030 the number of Muslims in Russia may account for 3o million people and that the rapidly developing Arabic countries would create a mighty stronghold for rendering further greater assistance to Muslims in Russia, it is worth taking into account the probable type of modernization.
Some prominent representatives of the public circles see that the skew between the growth of Muslim population in Russia and, on the contrary, the depopulation of its other part creates a threat of geopolitical catastrophe, when the Islamic region Idel-Ural (the Volga Basin) will split Russia and divide it in half. To prevent such occurrence, political scientist S. Gradirovsky is engaged in elaboration of project "Russian Islam", proceeding from the prerequisite of the growing role of Islam in Russia and also of the need to get on with the representatives of this confession for consolidation of the state integrity. It is sufficient to recall that for the period of 1992-1994 on the territory of Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan and Bashkortostan, the Islamic organizations of Saudi Arabia created for the youth the camps to propagate fundamentalist trends of Islam.
In particular, the idea of creation of the Islamic state, based on shariat, provides for the needed exit of Muslim regions from the Russian Federation and for establishment by them of the confederation or the federation with orientation to Islamic countries. The Pan-Turkic idea to re-create "the state of Great Turan", including the territory of contemporary Islamic states of Asia, Middle and Near East, divide some organizations and nationalist movements in the republics of the North Caucasus, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Dissemination of this ideology may promote creation of antagonism in relations among different groups of population and confessions of Russian society.
The politicization of Islam, alien to traditional Islam in Russia, not only engenders a threat to the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation but also nourishes Islamic radicalism and extremism, as well as negates the secular character of the state.
It is worth mentioning in this respect that the Russian legislation contains the provisions, which do not provide for participation of religious organizations in elections relating to the state organs and organs of local self-government, as well as for taking part in activities of political parties and political movements, for rendering them material and other assistance. The measures aimed at consolidation of the state control over observance of this legislative norm by all religious organizations, including Muslim organizations, might contribute to restrain politicization of Islam in Russia.
Will the legislation be able to stop the Islamic ideology and its adepts? What will be the future of Muslim regions in Russia? How powerful is "Islamic threat" for the Russian state?
One may put many questions, but one thing is clear for sure. There are two possible options of modernization via Islamic fundamentalism: to become a target for radical Muslims of the whole world or to transform into a friendly country ready for dialogue of cultures. Islam as one of the world religions propagates also in Russia humanism, humility, considers general human values as the most important qualities, calls up for piety and righteous way of life, observance of ethic and moral imperatives. President D. Medvedev, congratulating all Muslims of Russia with festivity Uraza-bairam, truly noted some unshakable values of Islam: charity, aspiration for creation, care for relatives. The head of the state also expressed the hope that Muslims will further thoroughly preserve traditions of faith, promote development of fruitful inter-confessional dialogue. D. Medvedev at the higher level came forward for tolerant and confidential relations of
Muslims with representatives of other religions. On 12 November 2009, presenting his traditional address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the president stressed that the people of different nationalities and confessions, living in Russia, should have a chance for the valuable joint relations. The head of the state made the following remark concerning the region of the North Caucasus: "The Russian authorities will do all possible to make happy life for people in the North Caucasus. As far as those, who will hinder us, is concerned, we will look into it."
It is a great comfort that in the XXI century the spiritual life of millions of adepts of traditional Islam in many regions becomes more rich and diverse, while their input in strengthening of public consent and mutual understanding among peoples of the united Motherland becomes more significant. However, ideology of Islamism often is constructed on the pseudo-Islamic religious values. First, growing contemporary Russian Islamism is inherent in most shortcomings. In particular, it concerns contradictions in ideology and heterogeneity of convictions, which result in imperfection and illogicality of its certain norms. Second, this circumstance makes it possible to conclude that the political leaders may apply only those aspects of shariat, which are advantageous for one or other situations. In this case Islamic fundamentalism presents itself not as a religious but as a political movement, which urges towards coming to power by any means, including the forceful overthrow of the legitimate Russian power.
The Muslim umma in Russia is split: the Volga Basin, the Ural, the republics of the North Caucasus, characterized by antagonist feelings. These regions have suffered from numerous internal contradictions and conflicts, related to the Islamic factor. The authorities lack the united approach to this circumstance. Some officials consider that the split is an advantage, since it makes possible act
according to the well-known principle "divide and rule". The other officials are convinced that it would be better to follow the example of Catherine II, who after some mutinies of Muslims united them and established in Orenburg the Muslim Department and in this way put the Muslim confession under state control and stopped dissemination of Islamism.
What position will prevail today? In the author's opinion, the key for overcoming the recurrences of Islamic fundamentalism, aggravated against a background of demographic augmentation of the number of Muslims and connected with the world financial crisis and social-economic problems, should be looked for not in the direct struggle against it as a certain materialized evil, but in the development of Russian economy and in amelioration of the level of living of the citizens. Only these actions, taken by the federal and the regional power, are able first "to preserve" and further, probably, to level completely the negative displays of Islamism on the territory of Muslims regions in Russia.
"Vestnik analitiki", M., 2010, N 3, p. 41-58.
Vladimir Semenov, candidate of political sciences TRENDS OF ETHNIC CONSCIOUSNESS DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES OF RUSSIA
The post-Soviet period was marked by the stage of ethnic feelings' growth of peoples in Russia and of their ethnic consciousness' development. The direction of these processes was shown by such evident indicator (to a large extent characteristic for other ethnic groups) as the change in mass consciousness of Turkic peoples, living
