Russian crackdown on Muslims fuels exodus to Islamic State

Russian crackdown on Muslims fuels exodus to Islamic State

SECURITY forces in Russia’s southernmost republic of Dagestan keep devout Muslims under surveillance, routinely raid their homes and haul them to police stations to give DNA samples and fingerprints.

So it was no surprise to many in the village of Komsomolskoye that Rashid Magomedov fled to Syria to join the Islamic State group, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children.

The 30-year-old had been detained several times, spent two months in jail on charges that later were dismissed and complained that police repeatedly planted weapons at his home as a pretext to arrest him.

“The fact that he left for Syria — the police are to blame. They wouldn’t leave the boy alone,” said Magomedov’s father, Zaynudin.

The heavy-handed security presence in the predominantly Muslim area is an outgrowth of two separatist wars in nearby Chechnya in the mid-1990s that spread an Islamic insurgency throughout the North Caucasus region of Russia.

Militants carried out many attacks, including suicide bombings and kidnappings, to pursue their goal of establishing Islamic fundamentalism, or simply to seek revenge against corrupt officials.

This culture of violence has fostered a generation of hardened fighters, which combined with the continuing crackdown by police and other security forces, has made areas like Komsomolskoye a fertile recruiting ground for the Islamic State group.

Few efforts are made by Russian authorities to stop young men from leaving. Many in Dagestan see the intimidating security presence as not only fuelling the exodus but also serving to rid the region of potential militants by encouraging them to flee.

Almost everyone in Komsomolskoye knows someone who has left for Syria. Dagestani police put the number at 11, but when residents are asked to list those who have left, the count is far bigger.

Regional police say nearly a third of the estimated 3,000 Russians who are believed to have gone to fight alongside IS militants in Syria are from Dagestan, a republic of 3 million people. They are men and women from both rich and poor families, from religiously conservative villages to very secular towns.

Komsomolskoye is one of several villages in Dagestan where security officials routinely announce “counterterrorist operations” and send SWAT teams to raid houses of suspected militants at the break of dawn. The main road in and out of the village is guarded around the clock by security officers with automatic weapons, and hundreds of residents are kept under surveillance, their names kept on a so-called Wahhabi list.

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So is Russia also to blame for supporting ISIS by intentionally trying to drive Muslims out of Russia?
Are Russian actions ok given the nature of radical extremists?
To head this off - The US and other countries have their own issues in this area, including surveillance. Russia has taken a holier than thou approach while accusing countries of supporting ISIS by their own policies and their effects.

Is Russia just as guilty?

Well, Russia is increasingly authoritarian and the police and judiciary are notoriously corrupt, so sadly this may well be true.

a reply to: Xcathdra

I don't know man, i don't think "but they suck too" is a good argument. I personally do not think the west "sucks" or is an evil empire hell bent on causing death and destruction. I think its more complicated than that, and that people are forced to make choices between whats right and good all the time and unfortunately whats good is not whats always right.

a reply to: TechniXcality

I dont believe I was making that argument. I was pointing out the hypocrisy in the sense Russia doesnt think its policies have anything to do with whats going on in the ME.

As for picking sides how does one get around it?

a reply to: Xcathdra

So they left to join Isis based on harassment from Russian authorities. Quick question why did they just not go to Syria but elsewhere? The harassment is deplorable yes I don't contest that but these people could have gone to another country and not join ISIS could they not? Maybe the harassment was down to these people already having known connections to radicals. I mean they didn't just wake up and say I'm off to join Isis without having some sort of plan/route of getting there.

Idk here, what's a better solution? Do the world just leave the Muslims alone? Say no one does nothing about Isis hell with it let them do what they want, or does the world try and be proactive and provide safety to the majority by cracking down on suspected sympathizers and terrorists? Two choices, do nothing or do something I suppose. Either way is no guarantee of peace.

a reply to: sosobad

Would it not be easier for Russia to kill these individuals in a war zone rather than doing it on their home turf? If Russia is so busy tracking these people how is it they are able to leave the country?

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: sosobad

Would it not be easier for Russia to kill these individuals in a war zone rather than doing it on their home turf? If Russia is so busy tracking these people how is it they are able to leave the country?

So they radicalized these people to the point of joining IS? If these people didn't want to be IS in the first place they had 195 other countries in the world to try and go to? Why go to Syria to become radicals?

a reply to: Xcathdra

From what we can read in the article, it seems that as long as those who leave, leave for IS controlled territory, then they do not care one iota. It may be that travel to the rest of Russia's territories for those on their list, would be a problem.

a reply to: sosobad

If Russia is serious in fighting ISIS why arent they stopping them from leaving period?

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: sosobad

If Russia is serious in fighting ISIS why arent they stopping them from leaving period?

Probably because all the PC (brah) people will cry persecution rights violation this and that, why cant we all get along etc. Russia is trying to gain favor and fight radical militants.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: sosobad

If Russia is serious in fighting ISIS why arent they stopping them from leaving period?

You prefer they stay and attack within Russia? I know that probably your wet dream but he probably doesn't want IS in his country anymore than you do in yours. Send them off to their deaths in Syria. I presume that's his thinking. Are you feeling sorry for these extremist animals or something?

a reply to: Brotherman

Russia does not give a flying monkey fart about how its human rights and political correctness appear to other nations. They never have, and with Putin at the helm, never will either. That is a motivation for sod all as far as they are concerned. Russia looking good to people outside Russia, interests its leadership not one whit.

a reply to: TrueBrit
I wasn't talking about Russian PC people, I was talking about media in general more or less, and Russia is trying to play both sides, along with America the UK and other European countries.

why should they stop them leaving let them leave if they wish to just do not let them back .
your mostly anti-russian anyway and hardly in the middle on this.
cracking down on radicals in your country is how it should be done not pussyfoot around these people
they are most likely being harased because they know what they are up to.

best way to find the radicals is let them identify themselfs which as your op states they are clearly doing given putin a nice list of radicals ,but i suspect you know this and are trying to taint putin in another thread .

so short answer:: no putin is doing the right thing

a reply to: Xcathdra
I don't think Russia cares if they are thought of as the bad guy, or if we think they are wrong.

The ones that were being raided knew it was because Russia felt they had reason to be suspicious; after they fled to join a radical group in Syria, Russia, I am sure, feels vindicated.

I still have to ask who is more logical among us when looking at the issue; hypothetically speaking.

I can only think of a few reasons why a person would go out of their way, traveling hundreds to thousands of miles, bypassing, and moving away from countries that embrace the same religion and culture as their own, to go live in a country where they know their culture is not only incompatible, but where they despise the country, their laws and their people, so much that they fight against those people, and make demands that all of those within proximity to them have to accept and convert to their ways.

I know that there are many online that are like parents that know their children are brats, and I guess because of some emotion that lies deep inside, they feel compelled to come up with excuse after lame excuse, to justify the brats behavior. The more you point out the questionable acts, the more determined the parent becomes in "making" you agree that the brat is just behaving normally, so if you can't see that, then you are the person with the problem.

Just label me as one of those with a problem.

Clarification - The words, ones, a, they, people, Russia, Syria, person, and the like, does not mean "all". So as to assuage any fears or ill temperments, no brushes of any kind was made in the creation of this post.

a reply to: sosobad

So its easier to let them leave and kill them than deal with the problem at home?

a reply to: stuthealien

1 - stop with the personal attacks.
2 - I already stated the west / other countries have their own ways of dealing.

3 - How can Russia be against ISIS if it intentionally allows its citizens to join them? Is that not moving the problem to someone elses yard?

originally posted by: TechniXcality

i don't think "but they suck too" is a good argument.

I dunno

It's a far more accurate of an argument than many who have blindly fallen all over themselves supporting Puty have made lately

There are over 20 million Muslims living within Russia (about 10% of the total population).

That will be quite the crackdown alright.