Traditional Islam vs. Fundamentalism: Causes of Youth Radicalization in the North Caucasus Republics

The paper touches a pretty novel point of view on the religious factor and radicalization of the youth in the republics of Russian North Caucasus. Contemporary researchers believe that the cause of radicalization is expansion of radical Islam ideas that are characterized as unconventional one. However, the deeper reasons for this relationship, according to the author’s opinion, are different. The paper seeks to explore the religious factor in radicalization process by means of Islamic political philosophy analysis. The author states, that there is a necessity of studying all religious movements represented in the region to identify which of them can be radical, which are not. The author actually explores and analyzes previously poorly developed aspects of confessional relations domain in the North Caucasus. The author starts from the hypothesis that the problem of radicalization of the youth is caused by politicization of Islam. Formal institutions to regulate religious field (adoption of laws, establishing the control entities in all regions) are imposed by state government. This leads to the struggle within the Islamic-religious movements (Sufism and fundamentalism) for power where one religious movement, failing to get state support, monopolizes state-confessional relations and removes its competitors in extra-legal field, where the latter equates to extremists. Thus, intra-religious conflicts are brought about in the political field, where government joins to conflict and acts as a mediator but actually support one of the belligerents. The policy on the recognition fundamental Islam as an extremist one and the state interference to punish fundamentalists tends to exaggerate violence. That entails radicalization of the youth who was formerly moderate believers.