VASILY V. IVANOV, staff, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies
New Eastern Outlook, April 9, 2012
"Meshketian Turks in CIS countries in the contemporary phase: The Islamism Factor"
Original article in Russian at website of the online journal New Eastern Outlook:
http://www.ru.journal-neo.com/node/15340
Meskhetian Turks originate from an area called Samtskhe-Javakheti, located in the south of Georgia. Up to the present day, the debate regarding what ethnicity Meskhetian Turks belong to has not quieted down: some argue that they are ethnic Georgians who converted to Islam, while others maintain that they are Turks, who ended up in Georgia during the period of the Ottoman Empire. However, no one disputes the facts of their forcible eviction from Georgia. In June 1989, the Meskhetian Turk community lived through yet another ordeal. The explosion of ethnic violence in the Meshketian lands of the Ferghana Valley (Uzbekistan) brought forth the necessity of yet another resettlement. Meskhetian Turks were again driven out of their homeland and settled in Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as some parts of Central Asia.
Having survived two deportations in the last 60 years, a significant fraction of Meskhetian Turks find themselves now scattered across regions of central and southern Russia. [1] Promises by the Georgian government for their repatriation are not being fulfilled.
By the end of the 1990s, in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Krais, and in the Rostov Oblast, a tense situation developed with regard to interethnic relations between Meskhetian Turks and the local Russian population. The problem became particularly severe in the Krasnodar Krai. The question of the situation arising in the south of Russia in the Meskhetian Turk community was raised by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the full board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, taking place on December 25, 2001 [2,3]. A question, among others, was posed to the board of the Ministry of Interior regarding the feasibility of the continued presence of this community in the Krasnodar Krai. [2]
Translator’s note: Russia is divided into two types of regions: oblasts (pronounced oh-blists) and krais (pronounced like the English word “cries”).
By the end of the 1990s, in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Krais, and in the Rostov Oblast, a tense situation developed with regard to interethnic relations between Meskhetian Turks and the local Russian population. The problem became particularly severe in the Krasnodar Krai. The question of the situation arising in the south of Russia in the Meskhetian Turk community was raised by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the full board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, taking place on December 25, 2001 [2,3]. A question, among others, was posed to the board of the Ministry of Interior regarding the feasibility of the continued presence of this community in the Krasnodar Krai. [2]
Translator’s note: Russia is divided into two types of regions: oblasts (pronounced oh-blists) and krais (pronounced like the English word “cries”).
Pamphlets printed in Turkey in the Russian and Turkish languages, and distributed among Meshketians, have repeatedly fallen into the hands of law enforcement officials in the Rostov region. These pamphlets contain the assertion that the territory of the entire North Caucasus, Kuban, Don and Astrakhan are native Turkish lands that must be returned to their rightful owner. There have been some changes in the opinions and world outlook of the Meskhetian community that would not have happened without the involvement of Turkish emissaries up until 2002: the number of Meshketians who believe that the territory of Krasnodar region should belong to Turkey has increased. [2]
Translator’s note: “Kuban” is an area of southern Russia; the word may refer to the Krasnodar Krai alone, or may include some surrounding areas.
Translator’s note: “Kuban” is an area of southern Russia; the word may refer to the Krasnodar Krai alone, or may include some surrounding areas.
The notorious "Nurcular" (Nurists) have the foremost relationship to the introduction of anti-Russian propaganda among the Meskhetian Turks. It is known that the "Nurcular" sect is in actuality a peculiar secret service, occupying itself with the collection of information on the situation in the socio-political, economic and other spheres in the regions inhabited by Turkic-speaking peoples. In Turkey itself, the organization is banned; however, the Turkish government tacitly encouraged its activities beyond its borders [4].
Translator’s notes: “Nurcular,” a Turkish word meaning followers or adherents of Said Nursi, is pronounced like “Noor-jew-lar.” Nurcular are also called “Nurists”. There are several Turkish groups that formed from the followers of Said Nursi after his death; all are said to be “Nurcular.” Only one of these is the Gulen Movement; it is by far the dominant one and it is also the main one engaged in activities outside Turkey. While religious scholars may continue to use the term “Nurcular” to refer to all the branches, in the Russian context, the term “Nurcular” is used as a synonym for “Gulenist,”and the term as used in this article has this meaning. This will be clear two paragraphs down where Ivanov says that Fethullah Gulen is the leader of this organization.
Ivanov’s statement that the Nurcular organization is banned in Turkey refers to a long-standing ban on Sufi orders and brotherhoods that dates back to 1925. According to a Nov 22, 2012 article in the Gulen Movement’s publication “Today’s Zaman,” the Turkish government was considering lifting the ban on Sufi lodges.
Translator’s notes: “Nurcular,” a Turkish word meaning followers or adherents of Said Nursi, is pronounced like “Noor-jew-lar.” Nurcular are also called “Nurists”. There are several Turkish groups that formed from the followers of Said Nursi after his death; all are said to be “Nurcular.” Only one of these is the Gulen Movement; it is by far the dominant one and it is also the main one engaged in activities outside Turkey. While religious scholars may continue to use the term “Nurcular” to refer to all the branches, in the Russian context, the term “Nurcular” is used as a synonym for “Gulenist,”and the term as used in this article has this meaning. This will be clear two paragraphs down where Ivanov says that Fethullah Gulen is the leader of this organization.
Ivanov’s statement that the Nurcular organization is banned in Turkey refers to a long-standing ban on Sufi orders and brotherhoods that dates back to 1925. According to a Nov 22, 2012 article in the Gulen Movement’s publication “Today’s Zaman,” the Turkish government was considering lifting the ban on Sufi lodges.
The presence of structural links with the "Nurcular" in Eurasia are seen by Turkey as one way of increasing political and economic influence of the [Turkish] Republic in these states. U.S. officials are in fact in agreement with the position of the Turkish state, and thus behave complementarily to the "Nurcular" [5].
The “Nurcular” organization in Turkey alone has 88 foundations, 20 companies, 128 private schools, 218 businesses, and also 17 print media outlets, TV stations, two radio stations, an Islamic ("green"), bank and an insurance agency. [1] In the early 1990's, the "Asya Finans Bank" was created by the leader of the organization, Fethullah Gulen, with a capital of $ 125 million for investment in various projects in the territories of the former Soviet Union. [6]
The main activity of adherents to the “Nurcular” ideology in Russia is to recruit as many supporters as possible, especially among the Muslim clergy, government agencies, the law enforcement apparatus and businesses. This goal is achieved by spreading the ideas F. Gulen and those of his "ideological father," the Turkish theologian Said Nursi, in the form of administration of special lessons - "dersane" - in safe houses.
According to the FSB, the “Nurcular” sect, operating in Russia through its creation of the companies "Serhat" and "Eflyak," and the "Toros," “Tolerance,” and “Ufuk” foundations, has solved a wide range of problems of intelligence-gathering interests. According to an April 10, 2008 bulletin of Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, the “Nurcular” organization carried out "the collection of information about ongoing processes in the North Caucasus," and the pan-Turkic and pan-Islamic conditioning of young representatives of the Turkic peoples of Russia, including Meskhetian Turks. In Russian territories, "propaganda actions were carried out; candidates were trained for recruitment for the formation of a pro-Turkish lobby in the local power structures, and for penetration of law enforcement agencies and community associations" by the organization.
Translator’s notes:
FSB (Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti) is the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, and can be thought of as Russia’s equivalent of the CIA.
Ufuk means horizon in Turkish; “serhat” means frontier. “Horizon” and “Tolerance” are widely-used names in the Gulen Movement. E.g., numerous Gulen-affiliated schools including a chain of charter schools in Ohio are named “Horizon;” there is the “Tolerance Society” in California, and the “Tolerance” school in the Philippines. Gulen-affliiated charter schools in Missouri carry the name "Frontier." The name “Eflyak” appears to be a phonetic transcription of the Turkish word “Eflâk,” which is the Ottoman era name for Wallachia, but which also translates as “skies” or “the heavens.” The latter meaning would fit with Gulenist use of words meaning “sky” or “heaven” (such as “Sema”) to name their organizations. For more on name symbolism, see here.
Translator’s notes:
FSB (Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti) is the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, and can be thought of as Russia’s equivalent of the CIA.
Ufuk means horizon in Turkish; “serhat” means frontier. “Horizon” and “Tolerance” are widely-used names in the Gulen Movement. E.g., numerous Gulen-affiliated schools including a chain of charter schools in Ohio are named “Horizon;” there is the “Tolerance Society” in California, and the “Tolerance” school in the Philippines. Gulen-affliiated charter schools in Missouri carry the name "Frontier." The name “Eflyak” appears to be a phonetic transcription of the Turkish word “Eflâk,” which is the Ottoman era name for Wallachia, but which also translates as “skies” or “the heavens.” The latter meaning would fit with Gulenist use of words meaning “sky” or “heaven” (such as “Sema”) to name their organizations. For more on name symbolism, see here.
Already for several years, representatives of the Meskhetian-Turkish youth have been going abroad to study in foreign educational centers through the channels of the “Nurcular” organization [7].
The geographical proximity of the Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast to Ukraine is an unfavorable factor enabling the spread among Meshketian Turks of the teachings of the “Nurcular” sect as well as Wahhabism and the ideology of Hizb-ut-Tahrir and other radical Islamic movements. Kuban and Rostov Meshketians maintain ties with Meshketian Turks residing in the Crimea and neighboring areas of the Ukraine. In the territories of this state, with the complicity of Ukrainian authorities, already for many years cells of the organizations of the "Nurcular", "Hizb ut-Tahrir", "Muslim Brotherhood," and other Islamist movements have operated.
In 2004, in the village of Marivka in the Bashtanska area of the Mykolaiv Oblast of Ukraine a certain Turkish citizen settled, one who had entered the territory of that State with the official purpose of conducting entrepreneurial affairs. These entrepreneurial affairs consisted of buying up fruits and vegetables from local Meskhetian Turks with the aim of subsequent resale in Russia, and also in the trade of clothing imported from Turkey. In parallel with entrepreneurial business, this foreign visitor succeeded in missionary work; due to him several members of the Slavic youth took to Islam. The collection of funds from local Turks was organized by this Turkish missionary for the purchase and outfitting of a home used at the present time in the capacity of a private mosque. The money for the outfitting of prayer rooms was given out both by Meskhetian Turks, and by workers in the Mykolaiv Oblast, who came from Turkey and are citizens of that country. In September 2006, with the cooperation of these same foreign guests, children of Meskhetian Turks who were of school age were sent to one of the private schools in Odessa, where they began to learn the foundations of Islam, and the Turkish and English languages. Among the “beneficiaries” in 2006 were also the children of Meshketian Turks from neighboring Rostov Oblast of Russia.
It may seem
like a noble cause – the rendering of assistance to children to obtain a free
education. However, the school in Odessa
that we are speaking of is lies within the system of educational institutions of
F. Gulen, the founder of the "Nurcular" sect. The “Cağ Öğretim İşletmeleri” (Era Educational
Company) is in charge of the selection of teachers for the schools. In this educational institution the idea of the
"return" of the Oblasts of the Black Sea territories of the Ukraine
and Russia to the corpus of the
"Great Turan" is preached. It
is said that all the land was illegally taken away from the Turks by Russians. The
states of Central Asia and Azerbaijan are regarded by the school teachers who
are Nurist (followers of the “Nurcular” ideology) as future components of a
greater Turkish state. Notwithstanding the fact
that these Turkish “friends” see Ukraine in the capacity of a "donor"
of lands for the Greater Turkey, students are inculcated with the idea that the
Ukrainian state is a natural temporary situational ally against Russia at this
point in history. Ukrainians are viewed
as a people who are experiencing a “natural” hostility to Russia, which can be
used to combat the Russians. By all
appearances, the Nurist teachers themselves believe that within a single
generation they will not succeed in witnessing the realization of the dreams
about "great Turan" - in their sermons, they maintain that their
followers are oblliged to draw in their children, and only then will they achieve
success. In the capacity of teaching
materials in their classrooms a map published in many languages is used, at
present still a fictional one, of a future great "Turkic world."
Translator’s note: "Cağ Öğretim İşletmeleri" has been translated by others as the “Modern Education Company;” however, we believe “Era Education Company” is a more suitable translation. Words relating to “time” or “era” have been used before by the Gulen Movement [a.k.a. Nurists/Nurcular]: Zaman newspaper (zaman = time in Turkish); Epoka University in Albania; Time International School in Malaysia.
Translator’s note: "Cağ Öğretim İşletmeleri" has been translated by others as the “Modern Education Company;” however, we believe “Era Education Company” is a more suitable translation. Words relating to “time” or “era” have been used before by the Gulen Movement [a.k.a. Nurists/Nurcular]: Zaman newspaper (zaman = time in Turkish); Epoka University in Albania; Time International School in Malaysia.
These same ideas are instilled in the children of the Crimean Tatars and Meskhetian Turks in the Turkish lyceum (high school) in the Tankovoe village of the Bakhchisaray region of Crimea. At the foundation of the school in the village of Tankovoe, an agreement was concluded between the Ministry of Education of Crimea and the firm "Cağ Öğretim İşletmeleri" (“Era Educational Company”). According to this agreement, the Turkish company sends its representatives to this educational institution in the capacity of teachers and educators, and takes part in the development of the educational curriculum of the Lyceum (high school). Inquiring Crimean parliament deputies brought to light the fact that behind the "Cağ Öğretim Işletmeleri" company lies the “Nurcular” organization [8].
Teachers of the Turkish lyceums (high schools) and their local collaborators are the agency of influence. A bona fide Turkish spy may act completely independently of the “Nurcular” organization and give the appearance of a forwarding agent of a trading firm, an industrialist, or a cook in a Turkish restaurant, not having any visible (to outside observers) contacts with these educational institutions.
It is known that in 2011, a frequent visitor to the community of the Meskhetian Turks in the city of Artemovsk [a.k.a. Artemivsk] in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine was a Turkish national named Mustafa, who opened a furniture factory in that Oblast. Despite the fact that Mustafa’s family resides in Donetsk, he spends most of his time in Artemovsk. Mustafa does not neglect to call on a mosque, which Meskhetian Turks organized in the Russian village of Vasyukovka [a.k.a. Vasyukivka], not far from Artemovsk. Meskhetian Turks from Vasyukovka deliver in vans furniture manufactured in a Turkish factory, as distributors for the Rostov Oblast and the Krasnodar Krai. There is evidence that in the Rostov Oblast, local Meshketians are employed in the carrying out of manufacturing of Turkish furniture in Ukraine.
Perhaps the penetration of “Nurcular” emissaries into the south of the Russian Federation through the territory of neighboring Ukraine has already become a malevolent tradition. From the territory of pecisely this neighboring state at the end of the 1990s a group of Turkish citizens entered the Rostov Oblast, officially coming for studies at Rostov State University. They were all members of the “Nurcular” organization. These Turkish students, in parallel with studying at the university, were active in teaching in Meskhetian communities. After graduation from the university, most of them became employed in commercial activities. An entity called the "Russian-Turkish Education Center" was organized with a portion of the proceeds of these business activities. At this center, Turkish language courses were organized for all who were interested. However, the Turkish guests mainly strove to invite Meskhetian Turks, local Tatars, and local representatives of the peoples of Dagestan living in the Rostov Oblast. An expansion of the educational center’s activities is planned, through the financial support of, and under the auspices of, the Turkish foundation "Tolerance."
However, one of the leaders of the local Tatar community, [Mufti] Jafar Bikmayev, head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Rostov Oblast, came out against these plans, declaring that the “Nurcular” organization has a direct relation with the educational activities of this center, as well as with the activities of the “Tolerance" foundation [9].
As a result of the educational activities of these Turkish citizens, local law enforcement agencies became interested, some Turkish citizens were expelled from Russia, and the activities of the center were suspended [1,10]. According to the FSB, one of the leaders of the now defunct "Russian-Turkish Education Center" in Rostov-on-Don was a Turkish citizen named Necati Aldırmaz, deported from Russia, who was occupied with the collection of information for the Turkish special forces. At secret meetings of students, the organizer of which was Necati A.[Aldırmaz], were shown video-recorded sermons of the spiritual leader of the "Nurcular," F. Gulen [11].
In 2003, in Rostov-on-Don, by Russian special forces again broke up an incorporated affiliate of the “Nurcular.” This affiliate endeavored to drag local Meshketians into the orbit of its activities. This time, the affiliate of the Turkish sect operated under the cover of a shop selling leather clothing.
In 2007, the office of the Russian FSB (Federal Security Service) for the Stavropol Krai, in cooperation with the MVD [Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del = Ministry of Internal Affairs] uncovered and suppressed the activity of a Turkish group taking part in extremist activities of the "Nurcular." Through their activities, Turkish emissaries sought to draw in the Meskhetian Turks in the Stavropol Krai, Kabardino-Balkaria and other regions of southern Russia. It was determined that Turkish citizens were engaged in financing the establishment in the territory of the Southern Federal District of anti-Russian Turkish general educational centers, at which were preached ideas of "Islamic unity" and the creation of the state of "Great Turan."
Translator’s note: The “Southern Federal District” is one of 8 Federal Districts that Russia was divided into in 2000. It lies north of th Caspain Sea and includes the Republic of Adygea, the Astrakhan Oblast, the Volgograd Oblast, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Krasnodar Krai, and the Rostov Oblast.
Translator’s note: The “Southern Federal District” is one of 8 Federal Districts that Russia was divided into in 2000. It lies north of th Caspain Sea and includes the Republic of Adygea, the Astrakhan Oblast, the Volgograd Oblast, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Krasnodar Krai, and the Rostov Oblast.
It must be pointed out that in less than 15 years following on the first appearance in Russia of the "Nurcular," 24 special schools, one university, one university department, and 3 language institutes have been opened by means of subordinated establishments in Russia [12].
Turkish "enlighteners" from the “Nurcular,” in their magnet [special] schools, tried to maximally activate the idea of a pan-Turkic unity, "tearing away" the sense of a Russian identity as much as possible.
It is known that in the Turkish national schools in the Rostov Oblast in the early 2000s, in the minds of young Meshketians the same ideas were planted that are now being preached in Turkish high schools in Ukraine: that the land of the south of Russia must be returned to "Greater Turkey.” It is said, that these lands were illegally seized from the Turks by Russians [8.13].
After 2001, due to violations of Russian law by Turkish teachers, Turkish schools (high schools) in Dagestan, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and other regions of Russia were shut down.
Perhaps it appears that justice prevailed, and the interests of the national security of the Russian state are maintained. At present, however, a Turkish education center under the auspices of the above-mentioned "Tolerance" Foundation operates quite openly in Moscow. It is known that among those attending the educational courses of the "Tolerance" [Foundation] on Pokrovka [Street] are arrivals from Central Asia and the North Caucasus living in Moscow.
Translator’s Note: The “Turkish Language Center Tolerans” has a page on the social networking site V Kontakte (“In Contact”), a Russian-language equivalent of Facebook. The page can be viewed at http://vk.com/club5494836, and indeed shows a street address on Pokrovka Street in Moscow.
Translator’s Note: The “Turkish Language Center Tolerans” has a page on the social networking site V Kontakte (“In Contact”), a Russian-language equivalent of Facebook. The page can be viewed at http://vk.com/club5494836, and indeed shows a street address on Pokrovka Street in Moscow.
The Turkish intelligence service has tried to use the Meskhetian community for their own interests in many constituent entities of the Southern Federal District. According to the Krasnodar security agents and the GUVD (Glavnoye Upravleniye Vnutrennikh Del = Central Internal Affairs Directorate) of the Krasnodar Krai, Turkish envoys and other special services in the early 2000s actively used the Meskhetian community to gather intelligence on military and economic targets of Kuban. [2] In 2000, a group of illegal Turkish spies abandoned in the Krasnodar region were exposed by the FSB. Two of them, were charged, alongside the usual spy activities (collection of military and political information), with the task of forming subordinated Muslim communities from among the Meshketian Turks and Circassians. They were ordered to actively draw in people into their business, connecting them to themselves with money [14]. In 2002, in the territories of the Krasnodar Krai, 8 Turkish spies were caught [2].
In 2008, the suppression of activities of "Nurcular" operatives working in Karachay-Cherkessia was carried out by law enforcement agencies. Turkish emissaries in this republic attempted to establish a connection with representatives of the local Meskhetian community.
In April 2009, Russian mass media reported that in Dagestan, during a joint operation by the FSB, the counter-terrorism office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Specialised Designation Police Detachment (SWAT team) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the activities of the banned “Nurcular” organization were suppressed. An address was ascertained by operatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Dagestani city of Izberbash, where members of this religious organization assembled.
Among them were nine Russian citizens, seven citizens of Azerbaijan, and the coordinator of "Nurcular" activities in Russia, Turkish citizen Erdemir Ali Ihsan. It was established that this Turkish citizen, during the time of his stay in the territory of Russia in 2009, led gatherings of activists of this organization in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Kazan and Krasnoyarsk. At these gatherings extremist literature was studied, and plans for the activities of the organization in Russia were discussed. Citizens of Azerbaijan, entering the Izberbash cells of the organization, performed missionary "voyages" beyond Dagestan’s boundaries with the aim of introducing anti-Russian sermons among Meskhetian Turks and other ethnic groups in the neighboring republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia.
Among them were nine Russian citizens, seven citizens of Azerbaijan, and the coordinator of "Nurcular" activities in Russia, Turkish citizen Erdemir Ali Ihsan. It was established that this Turkish citizen, during the time of his stay in the territory of Russia in 2009, led gatherings of activists of this organization in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Kazan and Krasnoyarsk. At these gatherings extremist literature was studied, and plans for the activities of the organization in Russia were discussed. Citizens of Azerbaijan, entering the Izberbash cells of the organization, performed missionary "voyages" beyond Dagestan’s boundaries with the aim of introducing anti-Russian sermons among Meskhetian Turks and other ethnic groups in the neighboring republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia.
It is known that in the 1990s in Russia, in the areas with dense settlements of Meskhetian Turks, new competitors to the “Nurcular” preachers emerged. These years have witnessed the appearance of Wahhabi emissaries among Meskhetian Turks living in Russian regions. Thus, for example, in 1997, in the town of Shakhty in the Rostov Oblast a self-proclaimed "Imam" preacher arrived, who, according to the Rostov Mufti Jafar Bikmayev, was an adherent of Wahhabism. The Wahhabi missionary went to preach in homes where Meskhetian Turks live [15].
On June 19, 2000, at the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Krai (ZSK), a conference took place to discuss the migration in the region. N. Kharchenko, the deputy head of the regional administration, released a report on this subject that, based on law enforcement agency data, reported that Wahhabi emissaries operate in Meskhetian Turk circles [16].
At the present time in the Rostov Oblast, illegal mosques (the term “mini-mosques” has taken hold among the local population), at which "Muslim communities" are active, at which illegal madrasas carry out "educational" functions. In particular, in the Oblast several "unofficial" mosques operate, the worshipers of which mainly are immigrants from Dagestan and other North Caucasus republics. Such mosques are not subordinated to any of the Spiritual Administrations of Muslims registered in Russia, and, for all practical purposes, amount to autonomous religious organizations, which often are not registered anywhere. In many cases, these "underground" and "illegal" mosques can be called quite conventional, since their worshipers make no secret of the existence of these autonomous religious communities. Illegally created "mini-mosques" are used by representatives of various radical religious organizations, including those whose activities are prohibited in Russia territory. Adherents of radical Islam (Salafis/Wahhabis, Hizb-ut-Tahrir followers, Muslim Brotherhood members, Tablighis) conduct lessons in illegal madrassas at private mosques. In the "mini-mosques" of the Rostov Oblast, these organizations periodically carry out the "dawahs" (calls) to attract into their organization new adherents. Representatives of Meskhetian Turkish youth also visit these underground madrassas [17].
In October 2006, the author of this article spoke with local Meskhetian Turks in the towns and “stanitsas” (villages) of the Krasnodar region. Even then, members of the older generation of this ethnic group remarked that, under the influence of associating with young people from Dagestan who study in the Krasnodar universities, some members of the Meskhetian youth are becaming attracted to the ideas of "pure Islam", and blame the older generation for professing a "false Islam,” “shirk" (idolatry), or "heathenism under the guise of Islam.” Furthermore, members of the older Meskhetian Turk generation observed a phenomenon of "Caucasization" of Meskhetian youth, when young Turks begin to adopt the behavior and manner of speaking of immigrants from Dagestan. Among these spokespeople of the older generation of this ethnic group the opinion is expressed that the mentality and attitude of the Meskhetian Turks always differed from the corresponding characteristics of the Dagestan nationality, and expressed dissatisfaction with such "imitative" behavior of Meskhetian youth. According to the Meskhetian Turks, with whom the author came to communicate in the Krasnodar Krai, of current concern is also a “Caucasization” of young people in the Meshketian community of the Stavropol Krai, with whom they have family ties [17].
On August 5, 2005, the Vice-Governor of the Rostov Oblast, Viktor Vodolatsky, noted at a press conference that in the eastern areas of the oblast (Remontnensky District, Salsk and others) some representatives of Dagestan nationality who were living separately had even formed alliances with Meskhetian Turks (mainly youth), allowing themselves acts of aggression against the Russian population [8,18].
In light of the above-mentioned facts on "Caucasization," there is interest in information about the behavior in the Russian army of the Meskhetian Turks called up for military service by conscription. Insofar as manifestations of ethnic "hazing" take place in the Russian army, the Meskhetian Turks join the ethnoregional group of soldiers that "rules" in the barracks: if in the unit the people of the Caucasus set the tone, the Meskhetians are at their side, positioning themselves as also people of the Caucasus, and if the military unit is "held" by Russian soldiers, then the Meshketians do not identify themselves as people of the Caucasus, but rather emphasize their common Russian civic identity. Cases have been noted, where officers in the military service, stationed in the Volga-Urals Military District, representatives of the peoples of Dagestan and the "Causasized" Meskhetian Turks who joined with them, openly positioned themselves as Salafis (Wahhabis) [17].
There is evidence that in central Russia and Siberia young Meskhetian Turks become members of international youth "Jamaats" [religious communities]. According to Islamic scholar Ahmed Yarlykapova, in northern Russia, "thanks to" the presence of youth "Jamaats", the radicalization of young Muslims (immigrants from the southern regions of Russia) is increasing [19]. Among young people, traditional Islam is losing ground under pressure of a radical fundamentalist version Islam introduced from abroad. Similar "Jamaats" are the foundation for extremist movements. In the "Jamaats," radical Islamic ideas are disseminated, as many of their leaders have received a religious education in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
Members of underground gangs are fighting neither for the creation of independent nation-states, nor for the annexation of land of the south of Russia to the territory of the Turkish state. Their main goal - the destruction of the "godless empire," as they call Russia, and the creation in the North Caucasus of a territory under the control of Sharia law, which would become one of the bases for the unification of the entire Muslim world into a worldwide caliphate. To members of the Wahhabi "Jamaats," ethnic affiliation is irrelevant; they know only one people – Muslims, and only one nation - the Islamic nation of citizens of a global caliphate.
It is a fact that is impossible to ignore, that among the inhabitants of the Meshketian-Turkish regions of Russia, there are supporters of "radical Islam.” For now, these people constitute a relatively insignificant amount of the total mass of Meshketians in Russia. However, the number of adherents of religious radicalism among them increases with every year [17].
As pointed out earlier above, an unfavorable factor contributing to the spread of the ideas of radical Islam among the Meskhetian Turks is the geographical proximity of the Krasnodar region to Crimea. Kuban and Rostov Meskhetians maintain ties with Meskhetian Turks living in the Crimea and the adjacent oblasts of Ukraine. Russian Meskhetian Turks come to the Ukraine, as a general rule, on the recommendations of relatives, to receive a religious education. They come from different regions of Russia, and in particular, from the Rostov Oblast and the Krasnodar Krai. In many cases, they fall under the influence of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Ukraine, whose leadership consists of disciples of Habashism. However, among the Meshketian Turk arrivals from Russia in the Donetsk and Kherson Oblasts and in Crimea, followers of Wahhabism, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, and other radical Islamic movements actively propagandize. Among adherents of the organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir" in the Crimea there are Meskhetian Turks who are permanent residents.
Translator’s note: The Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Ukraine is a centralized, state-sponsored organization that is intended to represent all Muslims in this nation.
Translator’s note: The Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Ukraine is a centralized, state-sponsored organization that is intended to represent all Muslims in this nation.
Meskhetian Turks of the Chaplynskij District, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine maintain ties not only with their relatives in the Krasnodar Krai and the Rostov Oblast, but also with Meshketians living in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan [20].
Through a malevolent irony of fate, it is in the very Fergana Valley, where at the end of the Soviet era Meskhetian Turks were driven to, that a powerful Islamist movement (Wahhabis, followers of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir") came together, which called into its ranks representatives of the Meskhetian Turkish people as well. This Islamic movement has acquired connections with Islamists in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East. It is from this very Ferghana Valley that preachers of "true Islam" went to spread their teachings to other parts of Central Asia, attracting into their network an international community with representatives from the most diverse peoples, including among them Meskhetian Turks.
It is appropriate at this point to provide data on the prevalence of the ideas of Islamic radicalism among Meshketian Turks living in Central Asia. According to N. Kurbanova, in the ranks of the "Hizb ut-Tahrir" movement in Kyrgyzstan, there are about 15 thousand people, of which, alongside the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, 20% are not representatives of the local population - Tatars, Russians, Kurds, Chechens, Meskhetian Turks [21]. According to R.S. Saidov (2010), among the members of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are at least 300 Meskhetian Turks [1].
At the present time, contacts of the Turkish paragovernmental structures with national organizations of the Turkic peoples in countries of the former Soviet Union are complicated by the fact that the traditional appeal of Ankara to the Turkic ethnic and cultural identity meets with opposition on the part of radical Islamists (adherents of Wahhabism and other pan-Islamist movements). Nevertheless, the pan-Turkic ideology spread by the Nurists (supporters of "Nurcular") has a definite number of adherents among the representative peoples traditionally professing Islam, including the Meskhetian Turks.
As we shall see below, the Wahhabis and other pan-Islamic movements, in the minds of their followers, do not always find themselves in a state of antagonism with pan-Turkic ideas. The reality is that in the consciousness of many followers of Islamic movements that are non-traditional for Russia, teachings that would seem to be completely incompatible with each other co-exist in harmony.
In recent years, "Nurist scandals" regularly flare up in Russia, the Central Asian states, and Azerbaijan. "Nurist" cells are dispersed throughout all of Russia - in the Volga region, in Siberia, in Dagestan, and in Kaliningrad. This raises the question: can the Nurists find common language with the Wahhabis, with members of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" and with other radical Islamist movements? Is a union (even if temporary) possible between "Nurcular" and adherents of the various currents of Islamic radicalism?
It might perhaps seem that this question can only give a negative answer. Since the beginning of the 1990s one of the principal courses of action of Turkish paragovernmental structures in the post-Soviet domain was opposition to the activities of Saudi Wahhabis and their other ideological rivals [1,6].
If we look into the discussion on Wahhabist (Salafist) internet forums, then we see that the Wahhabists call Nurists cult followers, heathens and heretics, and accuse them of the introduction of "bid’ah" (unauthorized innovations) into religious practice. They also accuse Nurists of practicing various types of "idolatry" ("shirk") [22,23]. One of the frequent Salafi accusations directed at Nurists on internet forums arises from recent declarations that prayer and fasting can be skipped if you are busy with business or policy-making which can do good for the "common cause of Muslims", or if you occupy any other post which can benefit Muslims. Wahhabis can not forget the sermon of Fethullah Gulen, in which he came out with the statement of the permissibility for girls of removing the headscarf in higher education institutions, if authorities demanded it. The leader of the movement based this position on the view that obtaining higher education is a more important observance of Sharia norms than outward appearance. In its time this statement elicited criticism from supporters of the Islamization of Turkish society.
In reading the discussions on Internet forums it seems that the Nurists (considered by a number of Islamists in Russia to be "moderate Islamists") and radical Islamists are unable to reach a "consensus." However, in practice we see that in Russia and other CIS countries, the Nurists, Wahhabis, members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Tablighis, and representatives of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" are quite capable of finding a mutual understanding on many issues.
It must be pointed out that in the contemporary period in Russia there live together in harmony representatives of various currents of radical Islam, who in other countries frequently are irreconcilable enemies: the Wahhabis, Hizb-ut-Tahrir followers, members of the "Muslim Brotherhood”(Ikhwan al Muslimin) the Tablighis (of the organization "Tablighi Jamaat"). It is known that members of these movements get along with each other quite well in the international youth "Jamaats" operating in Russia (as mentioned earlier, among these "Jamaats" are also the Meskhetian Turks that are the object of this study). In the Tyumen oblast of Russia, Wahhabis, Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Tablighis operate and jointly engage in missionary activities, in fact, hand in hand.
Already in mid-July 1997 in the Ukrainian city of Irpin a conference took place of representatives of various radical Islamist groups, where issues of cooperation with power structures and the gaining of legal status in the CIS countries were discussed. The event was attended by representatives of the Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, etc.), as well as envoys from Turkey. Among the participants were representatives of the "Muslim Brotherhood" and "Hizb-ut-Tahrir;" Nurists were also present. Also taking part in the event were representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and leaders of the Meskhetian Turks in Ukraine.
Translator’s note: The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People is an administrative unit created to represent the interests of the Crimean Tatars.
Translator’s note: The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People is an administrative unit created to represent the interests of the Crimean Tatars.
It should be noted that the ideological foreign policy reference point of members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People has always been Turkish Islam of the pan-Turkic "Nurcular" variety. However, in concurrence with this, the leaders of the Crimean Tatar nationalists have always tried to maintain warm relations with the Arab Wahhabi sponsors.
In Ukrainian territories at madrasas under the auspices of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea (DUMK), Turkish teachers from the “Nurcular” organization work completely unhindered. Despite the seemingly fundamental ideological differences, in Crimea, at the Azov Lyceum of Islamic Sciences, in the Krasnogvardeyskiy madrasa of hafizes and in the Simferopol madrasa of hafizes, followers of the “Hizb-ut-Tahrir al-Islam” organization and Wahhabis peacefully coexisted together with Nurists. It is known that the educational activities of the Azov Lyceum of Islamic Sciences and many other Islamic educational institutions of Crimea are financed by the Turkish Fund "Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Vakfı."
Translator’s note: Vakfı = foundation. The website of the Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Vakfı can be viewed at this link http://www.hudayivakfi.org/
Translator’s note: Vakfı = foundation. The website of the Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Vakfı can be viewed at this link http://www.hudayivakfi.org/
In 2004, the dismissal from their positions by
the DUMK leadership of the imams of the central city mosques of Belogorsk,
Dzhankoy, Alushta, as well as a number of village mosques of the Belogorsk,
Dzhankoysky, Nizhnegorsky and Bakhchisarai districts of Crimea was due to the
involvement of these imams in the activities of the "Hizb-ut-Tahrir"
and Wahhabi communities of Crimea. [24] All those dismissed have in their time taken a
course of preparation at the Azov Lyceum of Islamic Sciences, where both
teachers from "Hizb-ut-Tahrir", and Nur-follower teachers shared
their knowledge with them. It is known that, at the very least, up to 2008,
among the students of the Azov Lyceum of Islamic Sciences and the Simferopol Madrassa
of Hafizes were Meskhetian Turks, among them Russian citizens.
Currently, in a private house in the town of Morskoe on the southern shore of the Crimea a private madrassa operates. The director of the madrassa is a Crimean Tatar by the name of Edward, who several years ago adopted another name – Abdullah. Edward doesn’t hide the fact that he is a fellow-thinker of Fethullah Gulen and believes that Crimea should belong to Turkey. One of the teachers at the madrassa is a Meskhetian Turk, of whom it is known that his family lives in the Donetsk region. Among the teachers at the madrassa are members of the organization "Hizb-ut-Tahrir." The teachers do not hide from the shakirds that the madrassa exists on the money of a certain Turkish patron who wishes to remain anonymous.
Translator’s note: “shakird” is a term used for a student of a madrassa.
Translator’s note: “shakird” is a term used for a student of a madrassa.
It is known that in 2011, one of the teachers at the madrasa traveled to the U.S. for a meeting with Gulen. Among the shakirds there are Meskhetian Turks, including citizens of Russia. Some of the shakirds live permanently in madrassas and the rest come from other settlements of Crimea. For three years already, during the holiday season some of the shakirds of this madrassa are recruited into the organization by teachers in a network of summer cafes in several populated areas of the Crimea. Interestingly, in these cafes even alcoholic beverages are sold to tourists, despite the prohibition of alcohol in Islam. However, in one of the cafes of this above-mentioned network, alcohol is not present; this seasonal place of social [tea] drinking organized by the teachers of the madrasa is considered halal. This halal cafe is a de facto discussion club in which Nurists, Wahhabis and Hizb-ut-Tahrir followers conduct peaceful debates over a cup of tea.
Among the leaders of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" in Crimea a certain Murad M. is known, a resident of the village of October, a Meskhetian Turk and Russian citizen living illegally in Ukraine since 2003 [25]. He is actively engaged in propaganda for the creation of a worldwide caliphate, both among the local Crimean Tatar population, and among the Meskhetian Turks who arrive from Russia with the goal of "spiritual enlightenment."
In circles of Meskhetian Turks residing in Crimea are adherents of actual Wahhabi ideology. Crimean adherents of radical Islam maintain ties with members of the youth "Jamaats" operating in the Russian Federation.
With regard to the spread of radical Islamic ideology in the territories of the member nations of the CIS, a number of Muslim theologians note the appearance of a phenomenon known as the "Crimean Variant" of radical Islamization, where one child in the family is a Wahhabi, the other, a Hizb-ut-Tahrir follower, and the father (the head of family) continues to adhere to traditional Islam [26]. At the present time, a similar phenomenon is documented in the families of the Meskhetian Turks in the Rostov region: where one child in the family is a devotee of the pan-Turkic ideas of the Nurcular, the next is a Wahhabi, and the third is a Hizb-ut-Tahrir follower, while the parents adhere to the traditional Islam of the Hanafi school of thought.
Nurists find a common language with representatives of various radical Islamist movements in Kazakhstan as well. Thus, in the tiny village of Third International in the Karmakshy District of the Kyzylorda province of Kazakhstan, in the families of the Meskhetian Turks and in mixed Kazakh-Turkish (Kazakh-Meskhetian) families a scenario is observed, similar to the "Crimean Variant" in the families of the Meskhetian Turks of the Rostov region, where Nur followers in these families smoothly coexist with the Wahhabis and members of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir." The majority of the population in this village consists of Meskhetian Turks. Nur followers, Wahhabis and Hizb-ut-Tahrir adherents gather together at tea, where they peacefully discuss their current issues. It is known that in the 1990's, and in the 2000s the village of Third International was frequented by preachers of radical forms of Islam, coming from among the numbers of youth receiving education in schools in neighboring Uzbekistan. Periodically Nur followers, arriving from Turkey from among the numbers of Meshketian Turks who graduated from the Kazakh-Turk high schools and moved from Kazakhstan to the “motherland,” pay a call to the village on “visits with friendship.” In recent years, bearded guests from the Tyumen Oblast of Russia periodically arrive on “leave.” Local residents (Meshketian Turks and Kazakhs) land “seasonal work:” they exploit this oil-rich region for earnings. Evidently, Islamists from all over the former Soviet Union have found a common language. In the Muslim ummah of the Tyumen Oblast representatives of radical Islamic movements dominate, and they regard labor migrants from Central Asia as their "constituency."
In fact, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the Nurists, regarded as "moderate Islamists," and representatives of Wahhabism, "Hizb ut-Tahrir" and other radical Islamist movements find a common language among themselves. Bonding them together is the hatred of Russia – the "state of infidels," a hatred of Eastern Orthodoxy - which these people definitely regard as a "Russian religion," and a common desire to destroy the Russian state. Proponents of various movements of forms of Islam that are non-traditional for the people of Russia easily find a common language among themselves for the achievement of their common goal - the destruction of Russia as a state and the founding of a worldwide caliphate. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have not seen such purely remarkable alliances as these grounded on a general hatred towards Russia and towards all Russians. Clearly, this hatred of Russia is not the norm for these people. This hatred towards Russia and the Russians is indeed seeded by preachers from Arab countries, Turkey and Pakistan, which after the collapse of the Soviet Union were able to carry out their missionary anti-Russian activities unhindered in the former Soviet Union.
It is significant that in the same Tyumen oblast, the activities of Wahhabi, “Hizb-ut-Tahrir,” and "Tablighis" are plainly visible - in fact, they are "working" openly. Meanwhile, "Nurcular" adherents in the region are not seen or heard; one could say they operate entirely under the radar. And this is the picture, practially in all regions of Russia, where there are representative adherents of Islamic movements that are non-traditional for our country. It is clear that it not at all the Nurists (Nurcular) who dominate among the adherents of "nontraditional" Islam in Russia.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the "Nurcular" followers in Russia are forced to make ideological concessions to their "brothers" from among the representatives of various Islamic movements. Thus, Nurist followers must acknowledge the necessity for women to wear the hijab, and they explain the famous sermon of Gulen's stating that headscarves were not obligatory for girls attending university by way of the necessity of temporary tactical concessions to the Turkish Kemalists (the partisans of the secular state). Nurists also acknowledge the obligatory nature of five-times-daily prayers. When facing radical Islamists, the rhetoric of Nurists of Russia brings very much to mind the rhetoric of the "Muslim Brotherhood" organization: they say that we are all Muslims, we must avoid disputes and must find common ground to build a caliphate through the path of uniting all true believers. Nurist followers are very keen to speak of how all Muslims lived well, when the Ottoman sultans were caliphs.
Among a significant fraction of Muslim youth in different regions of Russia ideas are widespread, that under conditions “when injustice and corruption prevail everywhere” the optimal solution is to introduce Sharia law. And “Nurcular” adherents bring to mind to their opponents the fact that Said Nursi preached for the establishment of Sharia law. They also bring to mind, that the activities of F. Gulen in the sphere of Islamization of the Turkish society have given rise to unease in the Turkish armed forces, who traditionally were the “keepers of the secular Turkish state.”
On May 25, 2007 the governmental "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" reported that representatives of the Public Relations Center of the Federal Security Service of Russia briefed reporters as follows: brochures of Said Nursi were used by arrested members of the organization "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" [27]. According to a number of experts, at that time a thorough analysis had not been carried out by the Russian special services with the involvement of experts, Islamic studies and Muslim theologians, of the world view of each of the arrested participants of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir." But the finding of pamphlets of Said Nursi points to the possibility that the arrested extremists were guided in their activities by an eclectic (syncretic) Islamist ideology, including both elements of the teachings of Nursi as well as of the banned party "Hizb-ut-Tahrir." The possibility cannot be ruled out that it was a "Jamaat", in which “Hizb-ut-Tahrir” followers and adherents of the teachings of the "Nurcular" found common ground. In the history of conflicts of Russian law enforcement agencies with radical Islamists there is at least one case where members of the "militant jamaat" were followers of a distinctive type of radical Islamic syncretism. As a result of the carrying out of special operations by the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) on November 25, 2010 in the Nurlatsky region of Tatarstan, a group of armed radical Islamists numbering 3 people was broken up. It later emerged that the group of radicals was not limited to the triple that was eliminated. In their activities. members of the "jamaat" are guided by an eclectic Islamist ideology, which includes elements of both the Wahhabi doctrine and of the "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" organization [28].
The adherents of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" in the Crimean village of Morskoe mentioned earlier (among them have been both Crimean Tatars and Meskhetian Turks) regard the ideas of S. [Said] Nursi and F. [Fethullah] Gulen with respect, and like to spend their leisure time discussing books imported from Turkey which tell of a great Ottoman Empire of the past. It is known that many Crimean Hizb-ut-Tahrir followers hold the view that a “re-Islamized” Turkey is to become the central core of a caliphate, whose capital will be Ankara.
Unfortunately, many members of the Meskhetian-Turkish youth readily adopt ideas propagandized by Wahhabis and "Hizb-ut-Tahrir," because they see in them hope for the revival of their people under the green banner of Islam. In the absence of basic religious education based on the heritage of the Hanafi Madh'hab [Muslim school of thought] which is traditional for the people of Russia, youth are easily imbued with extremist ideas. In Meskhetian Turkish circles there is a fertile ground for the growth of the "constituent body" of Wahhabi communities, "Hizb ut-Tahrir" and other radical Islamist organizations.
In Russian territories reinforcement of Islamist (above all Wahhabi) sentiments is especially to be expected among those members of Meskhetian youth who underwent "Caucasization" through closely associating with immigrants from Dagestan and other republics of the North Caucasus.
Pan-Turkic and nationalist ideas, once popular among members of the Meskhetian Turk community, now give way in Meshketian circles to pan-Islamic trends. [17] However, as we see, these pan-Islamic trends are not always in direct contradiction with pan-Turkic ideas. The “unification" of pan-Turkic and pan-Islamist ideology in the minds of those who subscribe to "jihad until final victory" is unlikely to generate any fundamentally new threat to Russia. However, monitoring, on the part of the Federal Security Service and the Counter-terrorism Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, of the mood among adherents of Islamic movements that are non-traditional within Russia must in any case remain in “non-stop” mode. The responses on the part of the special services to anti-Russian activities of these domestic enemies of the Russian state must always be immediate and severe.
The fact that in the minds of anti-Russian jihadists pan-Islamic ideas can co-exist quite well with the ideology of Pan-Turkism, speaks to how in the future the possibility should not be excluded of the emergence of a situational alliance (in all likelihood temporary) between Nurists and the adherents of different currents of "Arabocentric" Islamism. In precisly which forms this alliance of jihad against Russia will be actualized it is difficult to say, but we cannot rule out the possibility of the emergence of a unification of adherents to anti-Russian Islamic ideology. One also cannot dismiss the possible appearance of a new syncretic radical Islamist ideology, in which are intertwoven the "values" of the "Nurcular," "Hizb ut-Tahrir," and Wahhabi ideologies, and those of other Islamic movements that are non-traditional in Russia. And the dreams of a caliphate in the minds of the followers of such a syncretic ideology will be firmly associated with Ankara, particularly in the event that the last adherents to the principles of a secular state are definitively defeated.
For the 28 citations in the article, please see the original link http://www.ru.journal-neo.com/node/15340.
Translator's note: Readers seeking to assess the credibility of the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies, where the author of this article is a staff member, might wish to visit this link, where this institute is shown organizing a conference co-sponsored by NATO.
Translator's note: Readers seeking to assess the credibility of the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies, where the author of this article is a staff member, might wish to visit this link, where this institute is shown organizing a conference co-sponsored by NATO.