Rhetoric Clouds 'War on Terrorism'The diversity of views held by Russia's Muslims on the 11 September
attack and the subsequent US-led anti-terrorist operation defy
convenient classification. First, there have been contradictory
responses from Muslim leaders of differing political and religious
leanings. The dividing line runs mainly between the official muftis
and the unofficial leaders. Second, the views expressed by Russia's
Muslims may well change substantially in response to new developments
in Afghanistan or other potential theaters of the anti-terrorist
operation. Finally, in Russia the US effort is viewed through the
prism of the Chechen war. The anti-terrorist language, in the Russian
context, is deeply reminiscent of the rhetoric at the start of the
Chechen war. In this way the response to the US effort partially
reflects preexisting views of the war in Chechnya. Hence, it is not
possible to speak of a dominant attitude among Russia's Muslims and,
at this juncture, any appraisal must bear a somewhat preliminary and
fragmentary character.
The reaction to the strikes against the Taliban among the Russian
population, including the Muslims, is contradictory. On the one hand,
the habits of suspicion garnered over 50 years of Cold War
confrontation die hard and many Russians are inclined to view the US
as a foe threatening Russia's vital interests. On the other hand, it
seems that these attitudes are changing in response to the events of
11 September, a genuine watershed which proved the global nature of
the terrorist threat.
President Vladimir Putin was the first to react, and he did so
firmly, saying that terrorists have thrown down a challenge to the
world. One has the feeling that he immediately sensed that the
opportunity to effect a serious reassessment by the US and the West
of his own "antiterrorist" operation in Chechnya. His remarks also
set the tone for many who spoke after him.
On 12 September, the mufti of Dagestan, Akhmad-Khadzhi Abdulaev,
publicly expressed his condolences: "Of course one more statement,
coming from anyone, can't bring back the victims or lessen the
tragedy and grief that cover the globe. However, let my words and
with them the words of all Dagestanis be not flowery but deep and
sincere sympathies, which represent the tears and pain of thousands
of my countrymen."
The Dagestani mufti pointed out that terrorism contradicts Muslim
religious values. "I think there is no need to yet again assure
everyone that terrorism cannot be combined with Islam. On the
contrary, he who committed this can not be regarded as 'human.'...
The footage from Palestine that has been broadcast throughout the
world should not be taken as incriminating all Muslim believers....
Just as the handful of Nazis celebrating in front of the US embassy
[in Moscow] should not be taken as representative [of the Russian
people]."
The mufti reminded the audience that in August-September 1999
Dagestan itself had been attacked by North Caucasian fundamentalists,
known as Wahhabis: "We certainly know about terrorism first hand.
Only a few days ago we marked the anniversaries of the incursion of
the terrorist grouping into our republic and of the explosions of
Buinaksk, and the terrorist attack that carried away the life of
Dagestan's mufti S. Abubakarov."
The other leading Muslims, Ravil' Gainudin, the chairman of the
Coordinating Council of the Muftis of Russia, and Talgat Tadzhuddin,
the head of the Central Directorate of Russia's Muslims, also
condemned the 11 September attacks and approved of the US military
response (albeit with some minor caveats).
Among the important muftis, the only one to condemn the anti-
terrorist actions was sheik Nafigulla Ashirov, the chairman of the
Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of the Asian part of Russia (DUMAR).
At a 5 November press conference, "Will Russia's Muslims fight in
Afghanistan?," he accused the US and other Western nations of
unraveling a war against the Muslim world. According to Ashirov, "In
Afghanistan the [powers] including Russia are carrying out a crusade
against Islam." Ashirov called on the audience to take
a "differentiated" attitude to Osama bin Laden's statements. The
mufti characterized the Taliban as "humane" and approved of their
demolition of the statues of the Bimiyan Buddahs. Moreover, he
said, "every Muslim has the right to fight on behalf of the defenders
of the Afghan state," meaning the Taliban.
Among the political activists, Abdul-Vakhid Niyazov, perhaps the most
visible Muslim political leader, came forth with biting criticism of
the US anti-terrorist actions. Niyazov is a member of the Duma and
the chairman of the political council of the Eurasia party, which
relies heavily on Muslim members. In an interview with the weekly,
Versia, Niyazov said, "We protest against the barbaric operation of
the USA, which hits first at the Afghans, not at the terrorists. It's
clear that the US is pursuing goals far flung from the struggle
against terrorism. The Afghan war affects Russia much more than is
being said. I can see how inter-ethnic relations became substantially
worse as in the case of the Tsaritsin pogrom. Our press,
unfortunately, only adds fuel to the fire and fuels xenophobic
attitudes. But the US brushes off this wave of aggression towards
people from a different civilization."
Similarly it is significant that a moderate (at least until recently)
Muslim political leader, Abdurashid Saidov, the founder of the
Islamic Democratic Party of Dagestan who now directs the Committee
for Human Rights of the Moscow-based International Islamic
Representative Organization, gave a very negative assessment. For
Muslims who obey the Koran and the Sunna,"who fear God and aren't
simply Muslims only in their passports or last names, the current
situation constitutes a reason to declare jihad." He seems sincerely
convinced that "the main task of the official Muslim clerics in all
of Russia's regions is to present everything that the Russian
government and president does as furthering Islam and Muslims." Hence
they find religious justification for everything that comes from the
government.
"And until there comes a single effort of all Muslims- if not of the
whole world, then at least of Russia-the West together with Russia
will keep talking to the Muslims in the language of rockets and
artillery," Saidow said. He draws a parallel between the second
Chechen war and the war against the Taliban. The contrast between
Saidov and Abdulaev is readily apparent in their opposite invocations
of the Chechen war.
"And all of this," Saidov continues, "will be done 'in the interests
of Muslims,' and will be accompanied by the commentary, 'we're not
fighting against Muslims, we're on the same side as the Muslims!' as
Putin, Bush and others say already."
Another influential commentator, Maxim Shevchenko, the editor of
Nezavisimaya gazeta's "Religion" supplement, although not a Muslim
himself, sympathizes with what might be termed the "neformaly" among
Russia's Muslims, who challenge the religious-political
establishment. He writes: "The US government is readying a war
against Islamic Afghanistan. Mankind is asked to choose between
the 'civilized' and the 'uncivilized.' Immediately we find that
Palestinians and the Arab world in general are among
the 'uncivilized.' Faced with a real threat from the US, Muslim
religious and political leaders overwhelmingly supported the US. But
those we may call ordinary Muslims, who don't rely on US credits or
oil exports, have readied themselves for war."
Shevchenko goes on to argue that "after the collapse of socialism,
political Islam is the biggest and most powerful obstacle to those
who would aspire to world domination. One should not confuse this
movement with Islam 'in general' which is integrated into global
structures at the level of muftis, kings, presidents and etc."
By "political Islam," scholars usually mean fundamentalism. In
Russia, as elsewhere, the Sunni Muslims, who constitute the vast
majority of Muslims, can be divided into two movements. The
traditionalists believe that since the time of the prophet the
religion developed in an unbroken path, and hence accept the
consequences of this growth together with its spiritual riches. The
fundamentalists, who think that the faith has accumulated many
mistakes, prefer to return to the original texts: the Koran and the
Sunna. Today, radical Islamic fundamentalism replaces Marxism as a
revolutionary force. As one of the main ideologists and the founder
of the Islamic Party of Russia's Rebirth, Geidar Dzhamal', says, " In
the current conditions, when 1% of the population of the planet
exploits the rest of the world, Islam presents itself not as a
religion in the traditional or secularist sense, but as an all-
encompassing ideology, which protects the weak and the oppressed."
Since the Taliban's "emirate" became a kind of model of political
Islam, it is hardly surprising that the radicals in Russia sympathize
with the Taliban. Even though the number of such persons seems fairly
small, they do form a very vocal minority. The majority of Russia's
Muslims either approve of or are fairly indifferent to the US actions
in Afghanistan.
It should also be clear that a person's response to the war in
Afghanistan is colored heavily by perceptions of the war in Chechnya.
In reality, if one looks carefully, there are very substantial
differences between the "anti-terrorist operation" in Chechnya and
the "anti-terrorist operation" in Afghanistan. However, many cannot
see these differences because Russian government propaganda has
succeeded in making the two seem indistinguishable to the domestic
and international media.
On the eve of 11 September, Afghanistan was in the throes of civil
war between the traditionalist Muslims of the North and the
totalitarian regime of the south. It's hardly a coincidence that the
legendary leader of the Northern Alliance, Akhmed Shah Mas'ud, was
assassinated, apparently by Al Qaeda, only a few days earlier. At
this writing, it looks like the Northern Alliance, thanks to air
support from US and the UK, is successfully squeezing the Taliban out
of the country. The Taliban regime is melting before our eyes, since
it has lost all support of the population.
In contrast, Chechnya suffers a deep ethnic conflict: A large
proportion of the population seeks to establish sovereignty in the
context of an independent state. This conflict is properly understood
as a national movement for independence. Radical fundamentalism has a
presence in this conflict, but its role is rather limited.
Critics of the war in Afghanistan among Russia's Muslims worry that
the US may subject the population of Afghanistan to the sort of
bombardment that the Russian military used in Chechnya. Such
sentiments seem natural in a media environment which stressed the
common goals and mutual endorsement of Bush and Putin. However, all
such judgments are preliminary and can change rapidly as the results
of the US-led campaign become more apparent.
Editor's Note: Mikhail Roshchin is a senior researcher at the
Institute of Oriental Studies (RAN).
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