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April 10, 2006

Fear And Loathing In Muslim Russia

It appears that the climate in Russia is becoming more hostile to Muslims, both at a street level and higher up in the echelons of power. Recently there has been a spate of attacks against Muslims and others classed as "alien". The BBC reported last Monday (April 3) that there has been a rise in assaults based on ethnicity or race. Elkhan Mirzoyev, a journalist from Azerbaijan, was attacked on a Moscow metro train by a group of men and women, who hit him with beer bottles.

On Saturday 1 April in Moscow, the culture minister for Kabardino-Balkaria, a Muslim popular singer called Zaur Titov (pictured), was attacked in Moscow by a gang of up to 20 men shouting racial slogans. Titov was, according to Mosnews beaten in eastern Moscow as he tried to protect a group of children leaving a culture center after having dance training. Titov suffered concussion and a fractured jaw. According to Turkish Weekly, the chief Russian prosecutor issued a statement last Monday saying that charges of hooliganism for the suspects should be changed to those of hate crimes. Witnesses said the suspects were shouting "Russia for the Russians".

On Friday 7, the most extreme recent case of ethnic hatred took place, this time in St Petersburg, states the Telegraph. Samba Sali, a student from Senegal was shot dead as he left a nightclub in the early hours. His attacker carried a hunting rifle emblazoned with a swastika. On its website, the ultra-right Freedom party posted a statement, which read: "The clean-up of the city continues." On Christmas Eve in the same city, a student from Cameroon was also killed.

In central Russia, the feelings against Muslims are no less intense. Today's Interfax states that on Saturday (April 8) in the city of Dzerzhinsk in Nizhny Novgorod, an arson attack was made upon a mosque. A molotov cocktail in a bottle was hurled at the building at 9 pm Moscow time. The bottle contained diesel oil, and covered the walls of the mosque with soot. No-one was hurt, and hooliganism charges were initiated.

It seems that another sort of mosque attack is threatened in the south of Russia, in the city of Astrakhan, states Kyiv Post. Earlier today, a group of Muslims and rights activists gathered outside the headquarters of the Russian government in Moscow to protest that a mosque, which has already begun construction, may be demolished. The mosque is near Astrakhan's airport, and last year building was stopped when the mayor said it contravened local rules. Protesters claimed the authorities did not want a visible Muslim building at the gateway to the city.

A regional official, Oleg Popov today claimed that the mosque was built near power lines. A local court has ordered that the building be dismantled by May 1 or it will be bulldozed.

There are 20 million Muslims in Russia, about 14% of the total population, but in Astrakhan, the Muslims number about half of the local population of 1.1 million citizens. The mosque, which is situated across the road from a Muslim cemetery, was initially mooted as a proposition in 1998, and permission was granted bu the city auhorities three years later. A change in administration happened in late 2004, and with a new mayor and new officials, attitudes against the mosque's construction hardened.

More problems in the south between Muslims and the authorities are reported in Mosnews. In the North Caucasus province of Adyegeya in southern Russia on Friday, March 31, dozens of Muslims were detained as they went to a local mosque for Friday prayers.

Road blocks leading to the village of Novaya Adygyawere were erected by police and while two busloads of security officers stood by, all cars containing Muslims were stopped, and subjected to searches with sniffer dogs. All the worshippers were rounded up and taken to the village of Yablonovskoye, where they were held in custody.

A witness said: "There we were told they would break our legs if we went on attending the mosque, then they let us go. They made a list of our names. I can't imagine what's going to happen to those who are on that list."

Khazret Sovmen, the leader of Adyegaya, resigned unexpectedly recently, and a rebel Chechen website claimed that this was connected with the events in Novaya Adygyawere. The website, Kavkaz-Tsentr, or Kavkaz Center claimed that officials from the FSB central office are currently in Adyegeya, carrying out searches and questioning people. The website claimed there is concern about a possible crackdown on Muslims in the province.

According to Associated Press, there were protests on Thursday (April 6) in Maikop, the capital of Adyegeya, attended by thousands. People were voicing their opposition to Kremlin-backed plans to merge Adyegeya with neighbouring Krasnodar, and also to voice opposition to xenophobia. Khazret Sovmen was firecely against plans to merge with Krasnodar before his shock resignation.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Kavkaz Center published a statement by Sheikh Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev (pictured right), the Chechen and Caucasus Mujahiddeen leader. He boasted about "mujahideen" operations being carried out in Ingushetia, Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria and Adygeya. He claimed great successes in Dagestan over the winter period, and also in Krasnodar and Stavropol territories.

Referring to the overall situation in Chechnya and the North Caucasus, Sadulaev said "the fact that Putin has spoken about the end of the war in the North Caucasus and establishing peace" shows that "the Russians have lost all hope of victory"- that "they have had enough and want to end the war by any means." The "territory of the war is expanding," he added, "and the Russians are taking desperate steps to prevent this, refuting their own statements about the war being over."

We described recently the attempts by 29-year old Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, who is supported by Vladimir Putin, to Islamicise Chechnya. He has outlawed gambling, and has called for polygamy to be legalised. He is cracking down on alcohol and plans to build a massive mosque in Grozny, Chechnya's capital.

Sheikh Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev's statement dismissively describes Kadyrov's actions as "signs of desperation". "Given the complete failure of ideological work....the Russians have begun using the mouths of the munafiqs (religious traitors/hypocrites) to talk about establishing Sharia law and Islam in Chechnya," he claimed. "They are now instructing Kadyrov, who has been expanding his network of shops selling drugs and spirits, to declare a war on narcotics. He is suddenly starting to show concern for the morals of the Chechens and for Sharia law. This absurd policy is being conducted as a result of the defeat of his bosses. It was also carried out in the former times, when the Russians suffered defeat and the national traitors who followed them lost all hope."

We reported last week that Chechen rebels have been circulating a pornographic video, apparently showing Ramzan Kadyrov cavorting with naked nymphets in a sauna, as an exercise in negative propaganda against him.

According to Norway's Forum 18, President Vladimir Putin signed a new Terrorism Law on March 6 this year. Their article discusses the situation regarding Hizb ut-Tahrir, which was officially banned in February 2003, when it was branded as a terrorist organisation.

We discussed the role of Hizb ut-Tahrir, its attempts to form a Caliphate, and its role in Russia and adjoining nations in December. There have been various arrests of Hizb ut-Tahrir members in Russia, and detentions in regions formerly under Soviet influence, such as Bashkortostan and Tajikistan.

It appears that following the ruling of February 2003, there are 29 Hizb ut-Tahrir activists in prison in Russia, serving lengthy sentences on terrorist charges. Though some are arguing in Russia that the group is not a terrorist organisation, even though it supports suicide attacks in Israel, and in Indonesia is involved with persecutions of Christians, it appears that Vladimir Putin's new law will make it easier to mount a crackdown on this group.

Now any organisation with extremist views (and setting up a Caliphate and overthrowing governments is extremist) is automatically classed as terrorist, if in its activities, name or intent "the organisation, preparation and commission takes place of acts punishable under Article 282, Parts 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code [extremism]."

One wonders just what will happen next in Russia, either on the part of Putin's lackeys or on the part of the Islamists.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 10, 2006 2:47 PM

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