Islam in Karachay-Cherkessia Region During the Soviet Period

Based on a wide range of sources, this article shows the development of Islam on the territory of Karachay- Cherkessia during the Soviet period. In the fi rst years of Soviet power, the declared atheism did not prevent the Bolsheviks from using the religious factor to attract the sympathy of the population. The commonality of Islam and Bolshevism in relation to social equality and justice was declared, and the system of Shari‘a legal proceedings was preserved for some time. As their positions were strengthened, the Bolsheviks no longer needed allies, the religious infrastructure was destroyed, and the clergy, including the Islamic ones, were repressed. However, in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War, when the need arose for the formation of patriotic sentiments, religion again took its, albeit limited, place in public life. The sound policy pursued by the regional authorities with regard to Islam in the 1980s made it possible to successfully resist the onslaught of religious extremism that hit the country in the post- Soviet period and build a religious infrastructure practically from scratch.

Islam and Traditional Culture in Present-Day Uzbekistan: Relationship and Features

The article discusses the changes that occur in the religious policy of Uzbekistan after gaining state independence (1991), and the impact that they have on various areas of everyday culture — traditional ceremonies, costume, religious and everyday behavior, etc. It is noted that along with justifi ed government measures aimed at preventing religious extremism are strengthening the control of offi cial Muslim organizations and their representatives over everyday life, over the execution of something only religious, but also family and social norms and ritual practices. The policy of religious tolerance and the course towards enlightened Islam, which is currently being conducted in Uzbekistan, imply not only the freedom of Muslims to openly demonstrate their religious affi liation through visits to mosques, the performance of Muslim rites, through special details of a costume, etc., but also the “purifi cation” of Islam from pre- Islamic performances and rituals that traditionally existed in the “everyday” form of its functioning among local Muslims, the modifi cation of ancient rites and rituals and the revaluation of cultural heritage. Modern realities determine the relevance of the ethnographic study of Islam in Central Asia and the need for new approaches to the study of traditional everyday and everyday culture — its consideration in the context of the processes that occur in regional Islam. The article is based on the author’s fi eld materials, mainly collected during trips to Uzbekistan.

RELIGIOUS MODERATION IN THE RECITATION ACTIVITY OF MUSLIMAT NU: An Effort to Prevent Religious Extremism

The lives of religious people are often in the spotlight because of complex problems. Religion which is supposed to be the source of peace, causes chaos. Hence, the moderation values must be taught in religious life to create peace. This study aims to explain the efforts and contribution of Muslimat NU Durek Hamlet, Batu City in internalizing the religious moderation values to prevent religious extremism. This is a qualitative research with a case study approach. The data are collected using observation, interviews, and documentation. The analysis technique includes data condensation, data display, conclusion drawing and verifying. The data are then verified using triangulation techniques. The results reveal that there are three efforts done by the Muslimat NU Durek Hamlet to internalize the religious moderation, namely oral method, exemplary, and monitoring. The values taught are balance, tolerance, deliberations, good prejudice and fair. Meanwhile, the contribution of religious moderation in preventing religious extremism is tolerance for differences, being friendly, polite, and doing deliberation.

On the politics of fear

Muslims, India’s largest minority group, have often found themselves excluded from the country’s mainstream political power circles. The historically constructed clash between Muslims and Hindus has been used by the members of the far right – such as the Rāṣtriya Svayaṃsevak Saṇgh (RSS) or the Viśva Hindū Pariṣada (VHP) – to present the Muslim community as outsiders and ill-intentioned others with a view to subjugating the Hindu majority. There has been a notable rise in majoritarianism since the Bhāratiya Janata Party (BJP) rose to power in 2014. Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, many BJP and RSS members made overtly racist remarks and incited violence against the Muslim community. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have exacerbated this religious polarisation that has been gradually intensifying since Narendra Modi (BJP) won a landslide re-election victory in May 2019. Fears surrounding the pandemic have rapidly fuelled societal divisions, as well as hyper-nationalism and religious extremism targeted at Indian Muslims. A tarnished social fabric would have obvious long-term ramifications, specifically relating to stigmatisation, stereotyping and violent attacks. In this paper, the author will attempt to examine the role of BJP politicians in stoking Islamophobia. The author will address the question of whether the COVID-19 pandemic has been politicised against the Muslim minority. Are politicians primarily responsible for stoking intercommunal fear and hatred? What roles have state actors played in fomenting sectarian discord during COVID-19? This article tackles these and other salient questions pertaining to the politicisation of the coronavirus outbreak and mounting hate speech authorised by the ruling party in India. The article concludes by suggesting that Hindutva-driven Islamophobia, supported by the BJP government, may have permeated the Hindu mainstream but cautions that this claim still needs empirical validation. This article informs readers of the specific process of Islamophobic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic which remains a largely understudied phenomenon in India. My interpretation is partially based on spending two months doing fieldwork, mainly in New Delhi, in February and March 2020 during the coronavirus outbreak.

Soviet Legacy and Imagined Past Converge in Levant Battlefields

The article analyzes main drivers of the revitalization of the Soviet ideological narratives in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. A key impetus for the study has been ever increasing number of the terrorist attacks claiming dozens of lives in Russia committed by Central Asian originated fighters as well as arrest of dozens of members of the various religious organizations banned in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The hypothesis rests on the assumption that ideological cacophony stemming from deep controversies embodied in the refashioned Soviet ideological narratives to me major cause of the problem. While employing the path dependence approach, I mainly point to interaction between the surge in the religious extremism and ideological disorientation caused by ideological disorientation in the region continuing since the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991 to address main research question “what are external implications of post-Soviet ideological narratives in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan?.” The paper finds out that the post-independent identity policies are not designed to build a new idea but to moot or keep at arms-length identities marginalized during the Soviet period. The Soviet legacy constitutes the core of the neo-ethnic identities introduced by former communist leaders just slightly refashioned with highly selective and politically motivated supplements. Sharp contradictions embodied in these narratives designed to ensure policy goals is among drivers of the ideological disorientation which in its turn acts as a breeding ground for the recruitment of Uzbek and Tajik youth to the global terrorist networks.

Islamic component in calendar rituals and folk medicine of the peoples of Dagestan: traditions and modernity

The article examines the types and forms of manifestation of the Islamic component in the calendar rituals and folk medicine of the peoples of Dagestan that have survived to our time. On the basis of field material and literary sources, the author cites the calendar holidays of the first furrow, the beginning of spring, the collection of edible herbs, medicine. The Islamic component in these holidays and rituals is manifested by the participation of a Muslim clergyman in them, the remembrance of Allah, the recitation of verses from the Koran, the conduct of the mawlid and the ritual of zikr, and the distribution of alms sadaqa. This component has been woven into agrarian holidays; meteorological ceremonies with «binding the rain», the use of a horse’s skull, wooden and stone boards, «overturned stones»; «sacred» trees, springs and stones in the rituals of traditional medicine. Collected in a special sacred period of time (pre-dawn hours before morning prayer) on the day of Eid al-Adha or the holiday of spring, spring water became similar to zamzam water and acquired healing properties. There are no analogues adapted to Muslim holidays, calendar and household rituals, built on the tops of mountains and passes, special religious buildings of Tabasarans – «Prayer houses». According to the author, the cited calendar rituals and methods of traditional medicine belong to the category of syncretic so-called “everyday” or “folk Islam” and can serve as an argument in countering religious extremism. The reasons for the preservation and functioning of traditional rituals and beliefs at the beginning of the XXIst century should be sought in the stability of ancient beliefs and rituals adapted to the requirements of the Sufi form of Islam, the peculiarities of the mentality and ethnic psychology of the Dagestanis adherent to conservatism and traditional way of life.

Two Nations, Different Regions, Same Challenges: Legal and Political Analysis of Internal Security Threats in Nigeria and Pakistan

This study is a modest but objective comparative evaluation of internal security threats facing two sub-regional large countries of Africa and South Asia-Nigeria and Pakistan. Considering the fact that ethnicity, sectarianism and economic instability are fundamental variables of internal security threats in both countries, the study argued that religious extremism has created an unenviable image of both nations in the eyes of the rest of the world, undoubtedly, this has affected both nations adversely. The study also identified inter-regional grievances as potential causes of damages to both federations. Also identified is ethno-sectarian problem as a major security threat to both nations. This in the opinion of the authors will remain a huge impediment to the goals of economic prosperity to both nations. Consequently, the focus of this study is to examine interdependence of these multifaceted challenges and their overall impact on internal security in both countries. To achieve this, the study employed qualitative research method in which analytical approach was used to examine the similarities in the security challenges in Nigeria and Pakistan. Structural questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The employment of thematic analytic approach was adopted to analyse data collected for the study. The study concludes among others, the need for both countries to individually address these national security threats and find viable solutions to the problems of socio-economic and political reforms and unemployment within a reasonable timeframe to mitigate future threats.Keywords: Internal Security; Ethnicity; Sectarianism; Challenges Dua Bangsa Satu Tantangan: Analisis Politik dan Hukum pada Ancaman Keamanan dalam Negeri (Internal Security) di Nigeria dan PakistanAbstrak Penelitian ini merupakan evaluasi komparatif sederhana namun objektif terhadap ancaman keamanan internal yang dihadapi dua negara besar sub-regional Afrika dan Asia Selatan-Nigeria dan Pakistan. Mempertimbangkan fakta bahwa etnisitas, sektarianisme, dan ketidakstabilan ekonomi adalah variabel fundamental dari ancaman keamanan internal di kedua negara. Penelitian ini berpendapat bahwa ekstremisme agama telah menciptakan citra yang tidak baik dari kedua negara di mata dunia. Tidak diragukan lagi, ini telah mempengaruhi kedua negara secara merugikan. Penelitian ini juga mengidentifikasi kasus-kasus antar-regional sebagai penyebab potensial kerusakan pada kedua federasi. Juga diidentifikasi masalah etno-sektarian sebagai ancaman keamanan utama bagi kedua negara, dimana akan tetap menjadi hambatan besar bagi tujuan kemakmuran ekonomi kedua negara. Fokus penelitian ini adalah untuk menguji saling ketergantungan dari tantangan beragam ini dan dampaknya secara keseluruhan terhadap keamanan internal di kedua negara. Untuk mendapatkan data tersebut, penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dimana pendekatan analitik digunakan untuk menguji kesamaan dalam tantangan keamanan di Nigeria dan Pakistan. Kuesioner struktural digunakan sebagai instrumen pengumpulan data. Penggunaan pendekatan analitik tematik diadopsi untuk menganalisis data yang dikumpulkan untuk penelitian ini. Studi ini menyimpulkan antara lain, perlunya kedua negara untuk secara individual mengatasi ancaman keamanan nasional ini dan menemukan solusi yang layak untuk masalah reformasi sosial-ekonomi dan politik dan pengangguran dalam jangka waktu yang wajar untuk mengurangi ancaman di masa depan.Kata Kunci: Keamanan dalam Negeri; Etnisitas; Sektarianisme; Tantangan Две нации, разные регионы, одинаковые вызовы: правовой и политический анализ угроз внутренней безопасности в Нигерии и Пакистане АбстрактныйЭто исследование представляет собой скромную, но объективную сравнительную оценку угроз внутренней безопасности, с которыми сталкиваются две субрегиональные крупные страны Африки и Южной Азии - Нигерия и Пакистан. Учитывая тот факт, что этническая принадлежность, сектантство и экономическая нестабильность являются фундаментальными переменными угроз внутренней безопасности в обеих странах, в исследовании утверждается, что религиозный экстремизм создал незавидный имидж обеих стран в глазах остального мира, несомненно, это повлияло на обе нации неблагоприятно. Исследование также определило межрегиональные жалобы как потенциальные причины ущерба для обеих федераций. Также определена этно-сектантская проблема как серьезная угроза безопасности для обеих стран. Это, по мнению авторов, останется огромным препятствием на пути достижения целей экономического процветания обеих стран. Следовательно, целью данного исследования является изучение взаимозависимости этих многогранных вызовов и их общего воздействия на внутреннюю безопасность в обеих странах. Для достижения этой цели в исследовании использовался качественный метод исследования, в котором использовался аналитический подход для изучения сходства проблем безопасности в Нигерии и Пакистане. Структурная анкета использовалась в качестве инструмента для сбора данных. Для анализа данных, собранных для исследования, был использован тематический аналитический подход. В исследовании, среди прочего, делается вывод о необходимости для обеих стран индивидуально противодействовать этим угрозам национальной безопасности и находить жизнеспособные решения проблем социально-экономических и политических реформ и безработицы в разумные сроки для смягчения будущих угроз.Ключевые слова: внутренняя безопасность; Этническая принадлежность; Сектантство; Вызовы

Government Policy in Overcoming Religious Extremism in Indonesia: A Multidisciplinary Review between Public Administration and Psychology

The development of religious extremism in Indonesia continues to increase every year so that serious attention is needed by the government to deal with religious extremism in Indonesia. Indonesia is an archipelagic country where there are various ethnic groups and religions that coexist. However, the development of religious extremism sometimes becomes a serious problem for the Indonesian people because it can have a negative impact and damage the unity between nations and religions. This research uses literature study. This research method is carried out by reviewing various literatures, both books, newspapers, survey reports, academic journals related to religious extremism in Indonesia. The results show that not all religious extremism has an impact on the emergence of terrorism, but the government still must make the right policies in handling religious extremism that can cause division and affect peoples welfare. The policies that have been made by the government are considered appropriate and based on the laws that have been set by the government so that they can have a positive impact in maintaining the unity and integrity of the Indonesian nation.