Saeid Shiri; Mehdi Javadani Moghaddam
Volume 27, Issue 114 , September 2021, , Pages 65-90
Abstract
a Islam, as the second religion of Russia and Muslims as an integral part of the country's demography, is a sensitive issue ...
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a Islam, as the second religion of Russia and Muslims as an integral part of the country's demography, is a sensitive issue in Russia's domestic and foreign policy. Russian Muslims, who during the Soviet era and under the influence of the ideology of the communist system were strictly isolated and faced with the challenge of identity, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and within the framework of the new political system, sought to revive religious identity. Meanwhile, the Russian central government , fearing that Muslims would identify with the extremist Islamic Salafis, sought to limit the activities of radical Islamists and encourage moderate Muslims. This issue was followed with more concern and sensitivity with the developments occurring in the Middle East after 9/11 and the strengthening of Salafi currents such as ISIS and the tendency of some Russian Muslims to these groups. In this context, this article tries to address the main question: what factors affect the position and role of Muslims in the Russian Federation? The findings of this descriptive-analytical study show that the challenge of identity among Russian Muslims and their political, social and economic situation, the central government's historical subjectivism of religious identity, the influence of fundamentalism, terrorism and separatism and political instability in Russian Muslim regions and Islamophobia play a major role in determining the position and role of Muslims in the Russian Federation.
