6 Religion and terrorism
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Derek Averre
Abstract
Chapter 5 explores Russia’s approach to the rise of political Islam in the context of both the Arab Spring and its campaigns to quell Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus. We investigate the literature on terrorism and political violence, together with evidence provided by international organisations about the participation of violent non-state actors in social and economic governance in MENA countries, analysing how Russia has promoted reductive narratives about the ‘fight against terrorism’ and instrumentalised the threat of transnational militant Islamism to justify its intervention in Syria. We examine how the Russian state’s campaign against those designated as terrorists in the MENA region has been shaped by internal debates over the threat to state cohesion posed by the spread of Islamism in Russia, and how that campaign has in turn affected its domestic policies. We focus on Moscow’s response to the challenge posed by Islamic State and other extremist groups in the context of the return of Russian-speaking ‘foreign fighters’ from Iraq and Syria to Russia’s Muslim regions. We consider how Russia, which identifies itself as a secular, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country, addresses the religious aspects of its national identity, and how the increasing prominence of the Russian Orthodox Church impacts Russian approaches to domestic Islam and its policies in the Arab world more generally. Finally, we examine the challenges posed by the policies of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, both to Russia’s relations with the Islamic world and to how Russia governs its Muslim North Caucasus regions.
Abstract
Chapter 5 explores Russia’s approach to the rise of political Islam in the context of both the Arab Spring and its campaigns to quell Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus. We investigate the literature on terrorism and political violence, together with evidence provided by international organisations about the participation of violent non-state actors in social and economic governance in MENA countries, analysing how Russia has promoted reductive narratives about the ‘fight against terrorism’ and instrumentalised the threat of transnational militant Islamism to justify its intervention in Syria. We examine how the Russian state’s campaign against those designated as terrorists in the MENA region has been shaped by internal debates over the threat to state cohesion posed by the spread of Islamism in Russia, and how that campaign has in turn affected its domestic policies. We focus on Moscow’s response to the challenge posed by Islamic State and other extremist groups in the context of the return of Russian-speaking ‘foreign fighters’ from Iraq and Syria to Russia’s Muslim regions. We consider how Russia, which identifies itself as a secular, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country, addresses the religious aspects of its national identity, and how the increasing prominence of the Russian Orthodox Church impacts Russian approaches to domestic Islam and its policies in the Arab world more generally. Finally, we examine the challenges posed by the policies of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, both to Russia’s relations with the Islamic world and to how Russia governs its Muslim North Caucasus regions.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Russia and the MENA region 19
- 3 Russia and the Syrian civil war 57
- 4 Russia’s domestic politics and the Arab Spring 98
- 5 Russia, the Arab uprisings and international norms 121
- 6 Religion and terrorism 147
- 7 A Russian strategy for the MENA region? 169
- 8 Conclusions 189
- Bibliography 211
- Index 265
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Russia and the MENA region 19
- 3 Russia and the Syrian civil war 57
- 4 Russia’s domestic politics and the Arab Spring 98
- 5 Russia, the Arab uprisings and international norms 121
- 6 Religion and terrorism 147
- 7 A Russian strategy for the MENA region? 169
- 8 Conclusions 189
- Bibliography 211
- Index 265
