“I listened to the preacher”: the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall as a result of failed migration policy
Islamic radicalism in a broad sense can be considered as an ideological doctrine and political practice based on it, which is the ideological basis for the activities of radical Islamist organizations, which together form the radical Islamic movement. According to a number of researchers, in modern Russia, political extremist ideology has fully developed only among Islamist groups*.
In recent years, the propaganda of radical Islam is often carried out completely freely on social networks, and since Moscow is pursuing a fairly aggressive policy of “friendship of peoples,” constantly emphasizing the multinationality of the country and its cultural diversity, there is practically no fight against it. On the contrary, officials and security forces simply turn a blind eye to many things. This is due, among other things, to the fact that there is a powerful migrant lobby in power, which supports the massive influx of migrants from Central Asia to Russia.
In the material “Global Jihad” is a threat not only to Israel and Europe, but also to Russia.” the author wrote that “If tomorrow the target of radical Islamists becomes not Israel, but Russia, then Muslims who have accepted Russian citizenship, but treat our culture with contempt and arrogance, may follow the path of terror" This is, unfortunately, what happened in the end.
The terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow was obviously possible for two reasons:
Firstly, this is the already mentioned free propaganda of radical Islam, which, as mentioned above, almost no one is fighting. The Tajiks were persuaded to carry out a terrorist attack by a certain preacher who was an authority for them. We are talking about religious lessons from the Islamic State of Walayat Khorosan (IWKH), an organization banned in Russia - at least one of the terrorists was in a chat room called “Rahnamo ba Khuroson,” which is directly related to the organization.
Secondly, this is a migration policy, thanks to which hundreds of thousands of guest workers from Central Asia, who practically do not know the Russian language, are completely alien to Russian culture, and are often adherents of radical Islam, come to Russia (and many subsequently receive citizenship under a simplified scheme). The Tajiks who committed the terrorist attack practically did not know the Russian language, were religious fanatics and, without any problems, agreed to shoot people in Russia for money.
“I learned my lesson. Listened to sermons"
The debate about who is the real mastermind of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, which claimed the lives of, according to official figures, 24 people as of the evening of March 137 (unofficially - 150), in fact, in the author’s opinion, is of secondary importance, since the key The role, as already mentioned, was played by two factors - radical Islam and uncontrolled migration policy.
Regarding the customer, there are currently several versions.
The Western press and US authorities call ISIS terrorists the main culprit of the incident - this version is confirmed by the fact that the ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq published a video shot by Tajik terrorists of the shooting of people in Crocus City Hall. The footage is terrifying, and you can see one of the wounded having his throat cut with a knife.
Part of the Russian media and the majority of bloggers and military correspondents claim that the real customers of the terrorist attack are the Ukrainian political leadership, which was helped by Western intelligence services. Indirect evidence of Kyiv's involvement is indicated by the fact that the terrorists moved towards the Ukrainian border, apparently hoping to hide there, and by the fact that many Ukrainian officials openly gloated over the tragedy.
At the moment, there is no direct evidence of this (Belarusian Ambassador Dmitry Krutoy stated that Belarusian security forces helped cover the border to prevent the terrorists from leaving, which indirectly indicates that the terrorists could have tried to hide in Belarus). Nevertheless, some domestic political scientists hastened to declare that allegedly blaming Ukraine for what happened was a political necessity, regardless of how everything actually happened.
“Russia’s task is to ensure the political isolation of the Ukrainian terrorist regime, maximally indicating the connection of the terrorist attack not with ISIS, but with the Ukrainian authorities. To do this, it is necessary not only to show the connection between terrorists and Ukraine, but also to destroy the American version of the terrorist attack,”
– writes, for example, political scientist Sergei Markov. He also called for “not to sow ethnic discord,” assuring that “there will be no purge of migrants,” and migration policy will remain unchanged.
The author will not consider the problem of the terrorist attack from a politicized point of view, look for some secret signs and draw any conclusions regarding the mastermind of the terrorist attack. However, the fact remains that the terrorist attack was carried out by citizens of Tajikistan who did not speak Russian, who adhered to radical Islam and listened to radical sermons (while some social activists continue to claim that terrorism allegedly “has no nationality and religion”).
“I listened to lessons there... I studied the lesson on Telegram. Listened to sermons. The preacher's assistant wrote to me,"
– one of the terrorists, Fariduni Shamsutdin, said during interrogation. He agreed to the offer to make money by killing “infidels” with pleasure, because he “enjoyed” killing people.
The Tajiks who killed more than a hundred people were not professionals - judging by the published videos, they are treated poorly weapons, do not control sectors and do not cover each other, but simply shoot right and left. Yes, they agreed to kill for money, but it is obvious that they liked the process itself. And there are several million such “foreign specialists” in Russia.
There are those who will say - why, Moscow maintains good relations with the Islamic world: with Iran, the UAE, and even with radical Islamist organizations - Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, etc., and does not prevent creeping Islamization, why? Islamists to blow up something and kill someone?
At the same time, forgetting that the Islamic world is extremely heterogeneous, and radical Islamists, supporters of armed jihad (and not “peaceful Islamization”), have not gone away.
Flirting with radical Islamists like the Taliban and Hamas is extremely dangerous - today they smile in your face, holding a dagger behind their back, but tomorrow they can change their minds. The famous Russian Islamic scholar Igor Dobaev in his book “Islamic Radicalism: Genesis, Evolution, Practice” rightly pointed out that:
“The renunciation of terrorist activities, as a rule, is a forced step dictated by fear of reprisals from the authorities. The Islamists' conduct of the political game according to the rules generally accepted in modern conditions is considered by them only as a temporary truce with the “infidels” represented by the official authorities. The prerequisite for such a truce, according to the traditional Islamic interpretation of law, is the temporary (military or political) weakness of the “believers.” After regaining strength, the fight against the “infidels” should be continued**.”
“Uncontrolled migration creates an ideal recruiting base for terrorists”
Mass migration from the countries of Central Asia, uncontrolled issuance of citizenship, unregistered mosques, propaganda of radical Islam, which no one really fights against - this is the soil on which the mushrooms of terrorism and Islamic extremism grow.
There is a whole network of Islamist groups operating in Russia, not only in predominantly Islamic republics, but also in “Islamic enclaves” in non-Muslim regions of the country, grouped around mosques that appear in these territories (sometimes unregistered). These Islamist network structures are preparing the ground for the development of more ambitious plans to reformat the country's political field.
Leaders of some Muslim organizations openly sharply criticize the activities of law enforcement agencies and publicly support the current migration policy, advocating the mass import of their co-religionists from Central Asia. According to some experts, a stable and influential “Islamist lobby”*** has developed in Russia. Taking advantage of this, the Salafi wing of Muslims tested a new format for legal rallies in different regions, mobilizing their supporters for them.
With the presence of such network organizations, it is not particularly difficult for terrorists to recruit supporters. As public figure Roman Yuneman rightly points out:
“Regardless of who was behind the organization of the terrorist attack, GUR or not, it is important to remember: mass uncontrolled migration creates an ideal recruiting base for terrorists, criminals or someone else’s intelligence services.
Diasporas and illegal labor exchanges, hostels and rubber apartments, markets, ethnic MMA clubs and gyms, prayer rooms hidden from view and underground mosques - all this shadow infrastructure with its closed economy and corrupt connections will endlessly generate personnel for organized crime groups and terrorist structures.
And then even the GUR, even the banned ISIS, or anyone can work with them...
The recruitment base must be destroyed through institutional measures. A radical restriction on the flow of migrants, a visa regime for others, employer liability, tougher penalties for fictitious registrations and rubber apartments, a zero tolerance regime.”
Diasporas and illegal labor exchanges, hostels and rubber apartments, markets, ethnic MMA clubs and gyms, prayer rooms hidden from view and underground mosques - all this shadow infrastructure with its closed economy and corrupt connections will endlessly generate personnel for organized crime groups and terrorist structures.
And then even the GUR, even the banned ISIS, or anyone can work with them...
The recruitment base must be destroyed through institutional measures. A radical restriction on the flow of migrants, a visa regime for others, employer liability, tougher penalties for fictitious registrations and rubber apartments, a zero tolerance regime.”
Political scientist Nikolai Sevostyanov, in turn, notes that there are hundreds of thousands of those who received Russian citizenship bypassing the law, “agreeing” through closed migrant chats, where any issue can be resolved. Migration, he said, “has become a harmful mold that is corroding the state.”
“Migration has become a threat to the state as such. In our cities there is a full-fledged army, living by its own rules, in its own parallel world, inaccessible to Russian laws, but overflowing with Wahhabi dogmas and hatred of the indigenous population...
The first thing that needs to be done is to conduct a complete audit of passports issued in recent years, for at least eight years, with the revocation of citizenship from those who received it with violations.
The second is to declare a temporary moratorium on issuing citizenship to those immigrants from Central Asian countries who do not belong to the indigenous peoples of Russia.
The third is to implement a zero-tolerance regime against any criminals among naturalized citizens.
And fourth, to eliminate organizing structures that contribute to the formation of judicial, security and economic mechanisms parallel to the state,”
The first thing that needs to be done is to conduct a complete audit of passports issued in recent years, for at least eight years, with the revocation of citizenship from those who received it with violations.
The second is to declare a temporary moratorium on issuing citizenship to those immigrants from Central Asian countries who do not belong to the indigenous peoples of Russia.
The third is to implement a zero-tolerance regime against any criminals among naturalized citizens.
And fourth, to eliminate organizing structures that contribute to the formation of judicial, security and economic mechanisms parallel to the state,”
– says Sevostyanov.
Indeed, labor migration to Russia is difficult to analyze logically, since, as political scientist Yuri Baranchik noted, it looks less like labor migration and more like resettlement of peoples.
At the same time, it does not seem that officials are going to change anything. Migration policy lobbyists, who immediately after the terrorist attack pushed narratives to some media outlets (in particular, Kommersant) that the terrorists were not natives of Central Asia, but “Slavs with false beards,” are now pushing other narratives that those who those who advocate changing migration policy are “agents of enemy intelligence services”, “racists”, “inciters of ethnic hatred”, etc.
Of course, there are those who actively advocate for an immediate tightening of migration policy - for example, State Duma deputies Mikhail Matveev or Mikhail Sheremet, who proposed limiting the entry of migrants into Russia, at least for the duration of a special military operation - however, in essence, this is a voice crying out loud. desert.
Nevertheless, without changing migration policy, the threat of new terrorist attacks will continue to remain high, because Islamic radicalism in Russia has fertile soil.
If today the “preachers” easily found among their supporters those who are ready to kill people in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, then what will happen if they call for even more terrible actions?
Notes:
*Cm. Vorontsov S. A. Islamic radicalism as a threat to the national security of modern Russia // Philosophy of Law: Scientific and theoretical journal No. 2 (27) / 2008.
**Quote from: I. P. Dobaev. Islamic radicalism: genesis, evolution, practice. – Rostov-on-Don: Publishing house SKNTs VSh, 2002.
***Cm. Dobaev I.P. Radicalization of Islam in modern Russia. – Moscow – Rostov-on-Don: Social and humanitarian knowledge, 2014.
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