CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VI (1) Contemporary-Eurasia-VI-1-engl | Page 97

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VI (1)
and Countering Violent Extremism of the U.S. Department of State of
the years of 2014, 2015 and 2016 17 .
The main purpose of this study is to analyze both the reasons for
Georgian citizens to join ISIS and the methods of the recruitment;
hence the paper will try to give answers to the following questions: a)
What are the peculiarities of the ISIS recruitment process in Georgia?;
b) Why do Georgian citizens choose to join the Islamic State? Based
on the covered literature and documents, the following hypothesis have
been formulated: a) Numerous Georgian citizens are leaving Georgia
to fight in the ranks of ISIS. b) Georgian citizens from Pankisi Gorge are
driven by economic, social and psychological motives to join ISIS.
Manifestations of Radical Islam in Georgia
Even though Islam in Georgia dates back to the early history, the
year 2011 can be considered as a year of change in the history of
Islam in Georgia. That year the state adopted a “new legislative
amendment into the country’s civil code stating that religious minority
groups with “historic ties to Georgia” or those defined as religions by
members of the Council of Europe can register as legal entities of
public law” 18 . Whether coincidental or not, this is the year of the start
of the Arab Spring and drastic enlargement of the Daesh. With its
development, the Islamic State started its active propaganda to lure as
many new members from around the world as possible.
Until the time that the Georgian government started to assess the
Muslim communities of the country as a state-level issue, these
minorities had been being supported by Turkish side, and, evidently,
did not enjoy freedom of expression much; despite the existence of
some mosques in Georgia, the minority group felt “vulnerable” and
“unconsidered” 19 .
17
Chapter 2, Country Reports: Europe. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2017,
https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2016/272231.htm
18
Georgia Adopts Law on the Status of Religious Minorities. (2011). CRRC.
Retrived March 1, 2017, http://crrc-caucasus.blogspot.am/2011/07/georgia-
adopts-law-on-status-of.html
19
Baramidze R., Islamic State and Georgia's Muslim Community. The Heinrich
Boell Foundation, 17.06.2017, http://ge.boell.org/en/2015/06/17/islamic-state-
and-georgias-muslim-community#_ftn1
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