Experts: authorities' focus on "traditional Islam" as only legal concept of Islam leads to a dead end

On September 28, Moscow hosted a scientific-practical seminar "Caucasus in the past and present (society and politics, economy and culture)".

At the seminar, Akhmet Yarlykapov, Senior Researcher of the Centre of the Caucasus Problems and Regional Security at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (known as MGIMO), delivered his report devoted to the problem of radicalization of Muslims in Northern Caucasus.

According to him, after the collapse of the USSR, re-Islamization in the eastern parts of Northern Caucasus, and particularly in Dagestan, was of "explosive nature."

Since the late 1990s, the Russian government supports the so-called Sufi concept of Islam.

"At present, Sufism is treated, including by the authorities, as the embodiment of traditional Islam. This fact is proved by the recently adopted 'Grozny fatwa'," explains Akhmet Yarlykapov. And he continues: "Although I should note that the fatwa had not been accepted by leading spiritual administrations of Muslims of Russia, headed by Ravil Gainutdin and Talgat Tadjutdin."

When speaking of the problem of radicalization of young people, Akhmet Yarlykapov pointed out to the huge role played by two Chechen wars in the above process.

While considering the ways of de-radicalization and the state's response to the growth of radicalism, Akhmet Yarlykapov has noted the factors that provoked young people.

According to him, first of all, the so-called preventive registration at police stations, given a "corruption component", has a very high "provocative role."

Akhmet Yarlykapov also points out to the insufficient activities for adaptation of people who have refused extreme forms of actions.

According to the expert, "it is also a dead end to treat a single concept as a concept of 'traditional Islam'."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.