Leonid Syukiyainen. On legal means of combating Islamic extremism and the main directions of state policy regarding Islam

Since the beginning of the 90s. of the last century in Russia, there has been a noticeable activation of Islam, its role in various areas of the country's life is increasing. If at first the "awakening" of Islam was limited mainly to the religious and cult sphere, then starting from the mid-90s. it has already ceased to play the role of only a purely religious factor or a complex of cultural and spiritual values ​​and has become an important element of the political process.

This dictates the need for a serious adjustment of the attitude of the Russian state towards Islam. If in the Soviet era the official policy in this area proceeded from the "admission" of Islam as a religion and only a tolerant attitude towards it, and after the collapse of the USSR it was replaced by a line on the consolidation and implementation of constitutional freedom of religion, the formal recognition of Islam's positive spiritual and moral potential, then At present, the Russian authorities, without losing sight of other aspects of the problem, should pay priority attention to the socio-political role of Islam, which directly affects its interests. Therefore, it is the state that needs to accurately determine the boundaries, forms, directions and goals of the political activity of Islam, as well as to create a mechanism for influencing it.

From the standpoint of the Russian authorities, the participation of Islam in politics cannot be unequivocally assessed. Moreover, recently it often takes on forms and directions that do not meet the national interests of the country and the task of strengthening the state. In particular, Islam is used to create problems in relations between the federal center and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, put pressure on the federal government, speak out against the leadership of the Muslim republics, and maintain internal tension in the regions of the traditional spread of Islam. The nationalist forces here take it into service to substantiate separatist tendencies and counteract the federal center.

As a result, Islam as a political factor is more often used for anti-state destructive purposes, and not in the interests of consolidating society and strengthening the state. However, this happens primarily not due to the nature of Islam, but because the Russian authorities as a whole turned out to be unprepared for a large-scale invasion of Islam into political life, when the traditional forms of interaction between the state and Islam-religion cannot ensure its interests in the face of political Islam:

New conditions require a new strategic line of power in relation to Islam. It should not be inconsistent - it should be reduced to supporting Islam as a religion and at the same time actually pursue the goal of excluding Islam from politics, considering it in this area mainly as a factor threatening Russia's national security. The task of the state is not to separate Islam from politics, but to direct its political activity in a direction that meets the interests of the authorities.

The position of the Russian state in relation to the Muslim legal culture needs to be revised. At present, Sharia is perceived by the authorities as a symbol of Islamic fundamentalism and separatism. They unconditionally deny any possibility of resorting to its provisions, continue to consider it solely as a relic that needs to be fought. At the same time, the Muslim legal culture has a considerable positive potential, which, with strict observance of the constitution, may well find its place in the legal development of a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Attempts to support Islam without Sharia will only lead to the fact that this powerful political and ideological tool will remain in the hands of Islamic radicals. Instead, the state should be a leader in discussing the future prospects of the Islamic legal culture, the achievements of which can be used not only at the level of the legal system, but also as an ideological weapon against Islamic extremism.

A new approach to Islam from the standpoint of Russia's national interests has recently become especially relevant in connection with the real threat posed to the country's security by Islamic extremism and terrorism. This phenomenon has an unequal relation to Islam as a religion and to a system of certain ideas. Directly connected with it are those extremist actions that are based on the Islamic ideological and theoretical base or pursue goals put forward by Islamic postulates. Moreover, the fight against religious Islamic extremism cannot be carried out only through the adoption of tough legislative measures. In particular, the ban on so-called Wahhabism is not able to solve this problem. Of course, the legislation regulating the activities of religious associations should be amended and supplemented. But the improvement of law enforcement practice and the training of qualified judges and employees of other law enforcement agencies can give a much greater effect.

The need to develop Islamic (including Muslim-legal) aspects of the fight against terrorism is due to several reasons. The main one is that the vast majority of terrorist acts in the modern world are carried out by radical Islamic (national and international) organizations and movements.

In Russia, Islamic extremism and terrorism began to manifest itself noticeably in the mid-1990s. Quite quickly, he began to pose a real threat to national security and state interests of Russia. First of all, this was due to giving the separatist movement in Chechnya a religious Islamic character, the inclusion of the Islamic factor in the conflict between the Chechen regime during the period of power of Z. Yandarbiyev and A. Maskhadov and the federal center, as well as with the events in. Dagestan, which led to a military operation against Islamic extremists in August 1999.

Islamic extremism and terrorism poses a threat to Russia both internally (terror attacks by Islamic radicals, hostage-taking, hijacking, etc.) and externally (participation of foreign mercenaries in terrorist attacks, training of militants abroad, financial assistance, missionary activities). ) factors. In addition, a negative destabilizing role is played by some Russian Islamic leaders and organizations that take essentially anti-state positions, directly or indirectly justifying and even encouraging the actions of Islamic terrorists.

The terrorist activities of individual Muslims or Islamic organizations have a different relationship to Islam as a religion and a system of certain ideas. Directly related to it are those actions that are based on the Islamic ideological and theoretical base or pursue goals explained by Islamic postulates. An example is the invasion of Islamist militants from Chechnya into Dagestan in August 1999 in order to create an Islamic state. In Dagestan itself, many terrorist attacks were carried out by Islamic extremists who justified their actions with the concept of jihad - the war against disbelief in order to establish the Islamic order. Since the autumn of 1999, the operations of Chechen terrorist fighters have been substantiated by Islamic concepts, and their support from abroad is largely explained by "Islamic solidarity" with the fighters against the infidels. In addition, the threat to the national interests and security of Russia is associated with the theories of extremist Islam and plans to create an Islamic state by force.

All this gives grounds for the conclusion about the active inclusion of Islam as a system of radical ideas, principles and goals in terrorist activities, as well as the presence of a real threat of Islamic extremism and terrorism for Russia. Moreover, after the terrorist attacks committed on September 11 in the United States, Islamic extremism has intensified even more noticeably.

The legal side of the state policy to counter Islamic extremism and terrorism is realized primarily in the application of the current legislation, which generally creates a sufficient regulatory framework to suppress this phenomenon and bring to justice those guilty of terrorist activities under Islamic cover. A number of articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of 1996, the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations" of 1997, and the Federal Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activity" are directly related to the Islamic aspects of the fight against terrorism. In particular, it is necessary to generalize the practice of applying Art. 282 of the Criminal Code, which establishes responsibility for inciting national, racial or religious hatred, and after studying it, decide whether it is expedient to strengthen such responsibility. Needs more consistent application of Art. 63, paragraph 1e, which refers to the aggravating circumstances, the commission of a crime motivated by religious hatred. It is possible to expand the list of such circumstances by including the commission of a crime based on the implementation of religious prescriptions, as well as the involvement of persons in the commission of a crime using religious argumentation and appeal to religious feelings.

The special legislation adopted recently in some republics of the North Caucasus on the prohibition of extremist religious activity, mainly associated with Islam, as well as the practice of its application, needs to be analyzed. Separate provisions of these acts may be taken into account by the federal legislature. This applies, in particular, to the law of the Republic of Ingushetia on the regulation of certain issues of religious and missionary activity of 1998, which provides for administrative liability for extremist religious activity and propaganda of religious discord, defines an extremist religious organization and establishes a ban on the activities of such organizations in any form, and also outlines the powers of the expert advisory body for religious affairs under the government of the republic to regulate religious and missionary activities.

At the same time, a fundamental assessment should be given to the law adopted in September 1999 by the People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan on the prohibition of Wahhabi and other extremist activities on the territory of the republic. In accordance with this act, the creation and functioning of Wahhabist and other extremist organizations in Dagestan, whose activities are aimed at forcibly changing the constitutional order, undermining the security of the state, violating public security and public order, creating armed formations, propaganda of war, incitement of national, racial and religious discord, encroachment on the rights and freedoms of citizens, inducing citizens to refuse to fulfill their civic obligations established by law and commit other unlawful acts.

In May 2000, the People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan submitted to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation a draft law on amendments to the current law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations", which essentially repeats the provisions of the above law, previously adopted in Dagestan.

In legal terms, this proposal could not be supported, primarily because it does not contain anything new in comparison with the current legislation regarding the suppression of extremist activities of religious associations. But the most important thing was that the term "Wahhabi" was used without any justification in the bill, which was given not a religious, but a political meaning. Moreover, it did not contain a definition of Wahhabi activity, which was considered only as a variety, one of the forms of extremist activity in general. However, special signs of Wahhabi activity that would make it possible to distinguish it from other forms of extremism were not indicated, since they can hardly be named at all. And without this, singling out Wahhabi activity as an independent one loses its meaning.

Moreover, the use of the terms "Wahhabi activity" and "Wahhabi associations" introduces uncertainty and confusion into the current legislation and prevents its precise and legally correct application to suppress the extremist activities of religious associations. In particular, the adoption of the draft law could lead to the fact that religious associations and individual citizens could be held accountable not for specific illegal acts, but for advocating certain views and political positions that could be classified as "Wahhabi". Without a precise definition of this concept in the law, the mere assessment of views as "Wahhabi" would be sufficient to accuse their followers of extremism. As a result, in order to bring a religious association and its members to justice, instead of proving the real facts of extremist activity, it would be enough to classify them as "Wahhabis" and "Wahhabis."

The adoption of the proposed bill not only did not strengthen the fight against religious extremism and terrorism, but would also lead to a departure from the principle of strict legality in the fight against this phenomenon, open the way for the persecutors of political opponents and adherents of other views on a subjective basis - assessing their activities as "Wahhabi" ".

The conclusion about the inexpediency of supporting the bill introduced in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation was also based on an analysis of the practice of the previously adopted and above-mentioned Dagestan law on the prohibition of Wahhabism, which showed the impossibility of applying its provisions by the courts. The preservation of this act is explained only by political reasons - the unwillingness of the federal authorities to further escalate the situation with Wahhabism in Dagestan. However, while the question of repealing “this law that does not meet legal criteria remains open, federal state structures (primarily the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation) should not succumb to pressure from both the Dagestan authorities and a number of other constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which, in their support for the Dagestan initiative, are guided by emotions, and A legislative ban on Wahhabism will not solve the problem of combating Islamic terrorism and extremism, and in legal terms, the adoption of such an act would mean a step backwards and would not help strengthen the legal foundations of the Russian political system.

Along with the improvement of legislation and law enforcement practice, other steps can also be taken, relating, in particular, to the work of law enforcement agencies in the fight against Islamic terrorism. To this end, it is useful "to introduce into the training and advanced training programs for judges, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor's office working in the Islamic regions of Russia or dealing with the corresponding category of cases, training courses on the basics of Islam, Sharia and Muslim legal culture. This is especially necessary for the republics of the Northern In addition, in the system of institutions of justice, justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor's office, it is useful to create structures that carry out religious expertise, including on Islamic issues. studies, and foreign Islamic centers and the work of foreign teachers who teach disciplines related to Islam in Russian religious and secular educational institutions.

One of the most important aspects of the fight against Islamic extremism and terrorism is the ideological and theoretical aspect. Its relevance is explained primarily by the fact that of all the components of terrorism under Islamic slogans, the specified moment has a direct bearing on Islam. After all, the strength of the positions of Islamic extremism and terrorism lies not only in the unresolved political, socio-economic, and national problems, but also in its ideological base, which is guided by Islamic concepts. Moreover, if in other areas of the fight against Islamic extremism (military, financial, organizational, informational) quite effective measures have already been taken, including relying on broad international cooperation, then the ideological and theoretical side of the phenomenon has so far remained out of the attention of the Russian authorities - both at the level its general understanding, and in terms of taking practical steps. As a result, today Islamic concepts are in service not with the Russian state, but with separatists, extremists and terrorists. Without the inclusion of the positive ideological potential of Islam in the arsenal of state means of combating terrorism, it is impossible to completely undermine the influence of Islamic radicals. The urgency of this task for the authorities is also due to the fact that the Russian Spiritual Directorates of Muslims and other Islamic centers do not show sufficient activity and skill in ideological confrontation with Islamic terrorism, avoid direct polemics with Islamic radicals on key issues of Muslim legal theory, limiting themselves to general declarations. Moreover, some Islamic leaders have taken an openly anti-state stance towards international terrorism, essentially justifying it. It should also be taken into account that in order to ideologically counter Islamic extremism and terrorism, the state cannot confine itself to supporting the so-called traditional Russian Islam, which in the North Caucasus is represented by Sufism, and in the Tatar-Bashkir region is associated with Jadidism (Islamic modernism), since these forms of Islamic ideology unable to offer an effective and convincing ideological alternative to the views of Islamic extremists and terrorists.

The state should take the initiative in developing such an ideological and theoretical alternative. This task can be solved, since Islam, as a system of political views, is characterized not only by radicalism, but also by directly opposite principles and values ​​- moderation, the desire for compromises, loyalty to the authorities, tolerance, gradualism, deliberation, etc. A special place among these concepts is occupied by the achievements of Muslim -legal culture - both classical and traditional, and modern - which can become the core of this ideological alternative to the positions of Islamic terrorists.

In solving this problem, the authorities should cooperate with religious Islamic centers. At the same time, it is necessary to provide for a system of measures to control the content of sermons read in mosques, using for this direct contacts with spiritual leaders and the possibilities of the relevant structures for relations with religious associations under the Government and the President of the Russian Federation.

The formulation of an ideological and theoretical alternative to Islamic terrorism and extremism should be part of a more general task - the development of a state policy towards Islam. Its initial principle should be the understanding that Russia not only does not oppose Islam itself and does not consider it as its enemy, but considers the revival of Islam a positive factor in the stable development of the country, sees in Islam, Islamic culture (including political and legal) an important an integral part of the life of Russian society and the state. Positive Islamic values ​​are not a threat to Russia's national interests and security, but its ally.

The state policy towards Islam should be aimed at the active inclusion of its positive spiritual, moral, cultural and intellectual potential in the process of democratic transformations in Russia, as well as at giving its activity in the political and legal sphere in such a direction that would contribute to the strengthening of statehood and the legal system Russia.

In developing and implementing such a principled and consistent policy, the following starting points should be taken into account:

• Islam is not a foreign and extraneous phenomenon for Russia. It is an integral part of Russian history and culture, a way of life for millions of citizens for whom Russia is their home. Islam is not only a religion, but also a special civilization and culture. Within the framework of this culture, its own system of moral and spiritual values ​​has developed, and a rich ideological heritage has been formed. The latter also includes political and legal concepts. If the state should be neutral to the theological postulates of Islam and purely religious issues, taking into account its secular nature, then Islamic ideas about power, law, and politics cannot be indifferent to the state. Here it must take a clear position in relation to both the principles of Islam that it shares and supports, adopts for itself, and to Islamic concepts that are incompatible with the conditions of a modern democratic society. The positive moral and intellectual achievements of Islamic civilization should become an integral part of the all-Russian culture and contribute to the spiritual renewal of the country.

• Over the course of centuries of history, within the framework of Islamic culture, very diverse ideas have developed about the foundations of power and law, different views on the relationship between man and the state, on society as a whole. Some of these concepts, most often taken out of the general context of Islamic thought and targeted at the poorly educated, can be used to justify political extremism. But the central place in the Islamic ideological heritage is occupied not by these theories, but by ideas that develop such principles as moderation, compromise, stability, consensus, loyalty to the authorities, gradualness, deliberation, avoidance of harm, etc. Such values ​​in Islam can be found much more convincing justification rather than extreme radical views. This also applies to the positions of the most authoritative contemporary Muslim thinkers. The initial Islamic principles and principles, their understanding by the largest Muslim authorities is a very convincing argument against the ideology of Islamic extremism and terrorism. The political and legal ideological heritage of Islam can and should serve not extremists, but democratic forces, work not for destabilization, but for the consolidation of society and the state.

• As evidenced by the history and experience of the modern Muslim world, the original principles of Islam, its fundamental approaches to the problems of power, law, and politics are largely compatible with European legal culture and generally recognized world standards. Separate provisions of the Sharia, which are emphasized by radicals and extremists and which look alien to a modern democratic society, do not reflect the essence of the Muslim legal culture, its main goals and principles, which, under certain conditions, can be adopted by the Russian regions of the traditional spread of Islam.

• Modern Islam is an international phenomenon, therefore, practically all the processes taking place in Russian Islam are closely connected with what is happening in the Islamic world. In addition, Islam is the most important factor in international politics. Because of this, the prospects for Russia's cooperation with Muslim countries, and hence its role in the modern world as a whole, largely depend on the state policy towards Islam.

Carrying out a verified policy towards Islam will allow the state to:

• To approach the solution of political, socio-economic and national-cultural problems of the Russian regions of the traditional spread of Islam, taking into account the mentality and way of life of Muslims, to justify the policy of the federal center in these regions by appealing to positive Islamic values, to win additional confidence of Muslims, to strengthen the union of power and society, the federal center with the subjects of the Russian Federation, to give the state greater legitimacy in the eyes of Muslims and at the same time undermine the influence of those forces that use Islamic slogans for separatist anti-state purposes.

• To develop and implement such a legal policy in the Islamic regions of Russia that would allow the use of individual achievements of the Muslim legal culture in the interests of the legal development of the country on strict legal grounds, while observing the Russian constitution and the principles of current legislation in the interests of strengthening the state and increasing confidence in its legal policy with side of the Muslims.

• Take a clear position in relation to the leading spiritual administration of Muslims competing with each other, identify Islamic centers and Muslim leaders that deserve support, taking into account their positions on the fundamental issues of Islamic ideology, determine their attitude towards Islamic political organizations, including political parties, separating from them those , which play a positive role, from destructive Islamic centers, as well as to give a fundamental assessment of the activities of foreign Islamic organizations in Russia.

Create a powerful ideological and political tool to counter Islamic extremism and terrorism, turn Muslim legal theory from an instrument of ideological mobilization for the fight against power into an ally of the state, direct the tip of Islam against extremists, gain a deeper understanding of the causes and driving forces of Islamic radicalism, choose the most effective forms and methods of dealing with it, identify allies and opponents in this fight.

• Determine the constructive role of the Islamic factor in state plans and programs for the restoration of the Chechen Republic as an important component of the process of its cultural and moral and spiritual revival, based on the fact that all issues related to Islam, the restoration of religious buildings, religious formations, should be resolved with decisive participation of the state.

• To raise Russia's relations with Islamic countries to a new level, which will not only give an economic effect, but also make the country's foreign policy more balanced, will allow using the potential of ties with the Islamic world for greater independence in relations with the West.

• To establish effective cooperation between Russia and Muslim countries and authoritative centers of Islamic thought abroad in the fight against Islamic extremism and terrorism. If the main allies of Russia in the fight against international terrorism at the military, financial, organizational, informational levels are the United States and Western countries, then the main ally of our country in the ideological and theoretical opposition to Islamic terrorism are moderate Muslim regimes and authoritative centers of enlightened Islamic thought.

It is important to keep in mind that in a number of Islamic countries, responsibility for terrorism is established in accordance with Muslim legal principles, by analogy with the Sharia punishment for robbery and speaking out against legitimate authority in the form of the death penalty.

The Islamic factor should become an important component of Russia's interstate relations with Muslim countries in order to strengthen its security and protect national interests. This, in particular, concerns countering Islamic extremism, which can and should not be a factor in the mutual rejection of Russia and the Islamic world, but, on the contrary, an additional incentive for their close cooperation.