CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 68

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA
it. However, authorities did not take his warnings into account. 27 Only
after the terror attack in Kukmar city in Tatarstan in 1999, and the revela-
tion that during the Moscow bombing in 1990 one of the terrorists Denis
Saytaev was a student of Yoldyz madrese, the problem of Wahhabism be-
came actual.
The period from 1998 to 2011 when Gusman Iskhakov was the muf-
ti of Tatarstan, can be called as the heyday of Wahhabism in the region.
Iskhakov favored Wahhabism. He began to appoint Wahhabis to the posts
of mukhtasibats (chief imam of the city or districts) or as imams of large
mosques. Many businesspeople and state offi cials started fi nancially sup-
port Wahhabis. 28
Fears of the possible emergence of radicalism similar to the North Cau-
casus evoked in November 2011 when three Islamists were killed during
the armed clash with the police. Ildus Faizov, that time newly elected Mufti
told that Wahhabism and Salafi sm were a great threat to the region. 29 His
deputy, Valiulla Yakupov, was an active opponent of Islamic radicalism
and even in his interview to Interfax website said the Wahhabism had to be
banned in Tatarstan. 30 Nowadays, the successor of Ildus Faizov, young muf-
ti Kamil Samigullin is actively involved in the propaganda of traditional Is-
lam and demonstrates a strong stance against Wahhabism. Even recently he
recommended banning that radical wing of Islam.
In the 2010s ISIS became the new attraction for Tatar Wahhabis. Many
started to join the terrorist organization. According to unoffi cial sources, 88
Tatars are fi ghting for terrorists in Syria. Some started to come back, but
they were immediately caught by law enforcement bodies.
Wahhabism in Social and Islamic Movements
Tatar radicals can be divided into two streams. The fi rst stream is sec-
ular nationalists who fi ght for the independence of Tatarstan. The second
stream is Islamic fundamentalist. In the 2000s when Vladimir Putin came
27
28
29
30
Rais Suleymanov, “Problema vahhabizma v Tatarstane nikuda ne delas …,” (in Russian),
[“The problem of Wahhabism in Tatarstan has not gone anywhere...”], Russian National
Line. September 18, 2014, http://ruskline.ru/analitika/2014/09/18/problema_vahhabizma_v_
tatarstane_nikuda_ne_delas/(accessed April 15, 2018).
Rais Suleymanov, “Vahhabitskij Holdingm,” (in Russian), [“Wahhabi Holding”], Military
Review, April 4, 2015, https://topwar.ru/72338-vahhabitskiy-holding.html (accessed April
15, 2018).
Nicolas Miletitch, “V Tatarstane preduprezhdajut ob ugroze radikal’nogo islama,” (in Rus-
sian), [Tatarstan warned of the threat of radical Islam.”], Inosmi, May 31, 2011, https://inos-
mi.ru/social/20110531/170076539.html (accessed April 15, 2018).
“Vahhabizm v Rossii dolzhen byt’ zapreshhen,” (in Russian), [“Wahhabism in Russia
should be banned.”], Interfax, May 16, 2010, http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=inter-
view&div=267(accessed April 15, 2018).
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