Religious Extremism on the Rise in Tatarstan?

        Perhaps some of you who follow the news closely have noticed Kazan and Tatarstan’s increasing presence in the international news scene over the past few months. In mid-July, a senior Muslim cleric in charge of education was shot and killed outside of his Kazan apartment. Later that day, the chief mufti of Kazan survived a car bomb attack. Further attention from the media has been placed on the early August discovery of a fundamentalist Islamist sect (known as the Fayzarahmanist sect, named after the leader of the operation), which has taken up residence in an eight-storey compound underneath a mosque for the past 20 years. Just a few weeks ago, a vehicle containing an automatic weapon and fundamentalist Islamic literature exploded on the highway outside of Kazan due to the accidental detonation of a homemade bomb. In addition to this concentration of religiopolitical violence, a recent murder in Kazan has caused even more restlessness in the area. In the wake of the recent outburst of extremist Islamic activities, some are calling for a crackdown from the government, but few recognize the far-reaching effects that such a response will have.

            Tatarstan has long served as the prime example of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Russia, and has served to contrast with the more tumultuous regions of Chechnya and Dagestan. The recent tragedies in the region have tarnished this reputation, leading some to compare it to more troubled regions and even suggest that religious extremism itself is on the rise. I would like to suggest that extremism is not necessarily on the rise, but that since the organizations that exist in Kazan are so small and disorganized, they must act in an opportunistic manner, thus the concentration of terrorist acts. This means that the recent attacks may not necessarily point to an increase in strength or membership of radical religious groups in Tatarstan. To jump to the assumption that Tatarstan is falling to rebel forces would be no more correct than to assume that periods of relative peace in more troubled regions (i.e. Chechnya or Dagestan) necessarily means that ultimate peace in those areas is near.

            In addition to arresting suspects in the shooting and car bomb cases, the regional government of Tatarstan took a wider-reaching approach to prevent religious radicalism in the region, and protect “traditional Tatar Islam”—after an emergency meeting and briefing on religious extremism, an amendment to the Law of Religious Freedom in the region’s constitution was passed. The Amendment included the establishment of uniform educational requirements for clergy members, and changed the regulations for the creation of religious institutions. While some blame the influence of more radically conservative strains of Islam on immigrants from the Caucasus and the fact that today many imams receive their education abroad at more conservative seminaries, Deputy Prime Minister Asgat Safarov the appearance of stricter strains of Islam in Tatarstan on historical consequence. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he says, imams were not prepared for the challenge of once again leading congregations, and were more easily influenced by foreign, more conservative forms of Islam. He, along with the President of Tatarstan, Mihail Minnehanov, are publicly urging faithful Tatars to remember the traditional strain of Islam that their ancestors subscribed to, and to return to those more liberal religious beliefs. In addition to the amendment, the government is investigating a number of local clergymen who are suspected of holding and preaching more radical beliefs. Many across Russia are calling for an even more severe crackdown from the central government. It is important to understand the profound effect that this would have. Tatarstan would lose the relative autonomy that the region has traditionally enjoyed and has allowed it to develop as it has. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the republic of Tatarstan has been allowed to govern itself more than other Russian republics and oblasts. Much of the economic stability in the region can be attributed to this. Not only could Tatarstan interpret intervention by the Russian Federal Government as overstepping a boundary, but it could also result in the actual reduction of autonomy for the region. Perhaps more critical to the Russian government is the consideration of how any intervention in Tatarstan could influence relations with other predominantly Muslim regions such as Chechnya and Dagestan.

While I certainly do not encourage religious extremism, I do question how the role the government is playing could end up affecting true religious freedom in Tatarstan, and in Russia. Right now, the intention is to cut out or push out a specific radical strain of a specific religion, but where is the line to be drawn? So slowly that it might not even be noticeable yet, freedom of religion is being whittled away, and as long as the belief exists that religious extremism is on the rise, this basic right will continue to dwindle. This underlines the importance of keeping the events of this summer, tragic as they are, in perspective.