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How the Radical Islamist Influence in Russian Prisons Can Pose a Threat to Israel and the West (PART TWO)
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Mariupol, Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from handout video released on March 19, 2023. Photo: Kremlin.ru/Handout via REUTERS
For Part One of this article, click here.
Scenario 3. The incorporation of elements of Islamic radicalism from criminal subcultures into the country’s political system
The most dangerous scenario for Russia and other countries would be Scenario 3 that foresees the incorporation of elements of Islamic radicalism from criminal subcultures into the country’s political system. Among the trends suggesting the possibility of such a scenario are the following. Since the 1990s, there has been an evident link between Russia’s political and business elite and criminal circles. Currently, there is a notable trend toward the division of key assets among criminal-political groups, particularly those of North Caucasian origin.
The trend toward state conservatism as part of Russia’s modern ideology is leading to de-secularization and strengthening of the connection between Islamic ideology and regional political systems in Russia’s autonomous republics of the North Caucasus. The power structure established in Chechnya under Ramzan Kadyrov, based on political Islam (of a conservative-Sufi nature), is the first example of a stable Islamist regime in the post-Soviet space (experiments with the introduction of Sharia laws in independent Chechnya between the First and Second Chechen Wars lasted a significantly shorter time).
Already, there is a noticeable link between the spread of radical Islam in prisons and among criminal groups, driven by the growing popularity of radical Islam among young people from certain Russian regions and among the most vulnerable migrant groups. Some experts say that there is also growing tendency towards introduction of radical Islamism as the ideology of different criminal groups in Russia and Central Asia. Added to this is the rise in the use of political Islam as a mechanism for integration among power groups at the regional regime level, alongside a trend toward overall instability in Russia.
As a result of all these trends, a situation may quickly emerge, when regional political systems in the North Caucasus, amid a weakening federal center, will begin to rely on support of criminal-Islamist groups. This is logical since the leaders of these groups already use criminal gangs (sometimes with elements of radical Islamic ideology) in the conflicts over property, as the Wildberries case demonstrates.
To understand the reality of such a scenario, one only needs to recall that elements of criminal-Islamist groups were integrated into the official structures of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (specifically, its Armed Forces) between the two Chechen wars. Elements of the practices that developed at that time (including the combination of formal work in security structures with informal criminal activity, particularly informal protection activities) have persisted in a modified form in today’s Chechen Republic. In modern Dagestan and several other national autonomous republics of the North Caucasus, similar processes can be observed along two lines, or trends.
The first trend is the connection between regional elites and organized crime. In this context, two officially documented cases can be mentioned. From 2016 to 2019, Rauf Arashukov was a member of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament. He was delegated there by the executive authority of Karachay-Cherkessia, a national republic in the North Caucasus. He had also previously served as the head of a district and as the first deputy head of the republic’s government. In 2022, he was convicted of organizing a criminal community and for murder. Another, no less high-profile case is the story of the former mayor of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, Said Amirov, who was convicted in 2014 on similar charges. It is evident that this is only the tip of the iceberg, revealing the connections between regional political systems in the North Caucasus and criminal groups. Based on this, it can be assumed that, in some cases, gangs act as informal (and sometimes even formalized when integrated into official law enforcement agencies) forces relied upon by certain regional elites.
The second trend indicating the real possibility of Scenario 3 is the increasing official Islamic religiosity of regional elites, including within the framework of the conservative ideology that currently dominates in Russia.
Accordingly, it is entirely plausible to hypothetically assume a further convergence of these two developmental trends described above, meaning that regional elites could merge with criminal-Islamist groups.
An example of the merging of the trends described above is the terrorist attack in Dagestan on June 23, 2024. During the attack, a synagogue, two Orthodox churches, and a traffic police checkpoint in Makhachkala and Derbent were targeted. Twenty-one people lost their lives—16 police officers and five civilians, including a 66-year-old Orthodox priest in Derbent—and more than 20 others were injured. It was discovered that three relatives of Magomed Omarov, the head of the Sergokala district in Dagestan, were involved in the attack, including his own son.
Consequently, the influence of radical Islam, with its anti-Western and anti-Semitic tendencies, could expand across all of Russia and may start influence the policy of the federal government. This situation could pose significant threats to Europe and Israel.
The facts described above highlight the need to deepen the study of the links between Jihadism and criminal activity, as well as the study of prison Islam (which, of course, is not solely limited to Islamic radicalism but can also represent prisoners’ legitimate search for meaning, justice and social integration). Two obstacles stand in the way of this endeavor.
One obstacle lies in the politicization of the issue. As a result, experts leaning toward a right-wing discourse tend to focus primarily on counterterrorism and criminal behavior, while academics inclined toward a left-wing discourse may emphasize prisoner rights and religious freedom violations in post-Soviet countries. An accurate assessment of the situation requires a comprehensive approach that integrates both aspects of the issue mentioned above. Today, there are many interesting theoretical and comparative scholarly studies of convergence between criminal and terrorist activities, this approach can be applied also to the case of prison Islam and convergence between criminal and religious extremist activity in Russia and Central Asia.
The second obstacle is the difficulty of accessing both underground criminal-Islamist groups at large (who are not inclined to disseminate information about themselves) and prisoners (since authorities in many post-Soviet countries are not interested in exposing prison conditions due to serious human rights violations within these institutions).
The author is an Affiliated Research Fellow at the PSCR Program, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University, PhD (Israel), where a version of this article was first published.
The post How the Radical Islamist Influence in Russian Prisons Can Pose a Threat to Israel and the West (PART TWO) first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says Oct. 7 Massacre ‘Revived Palestinian Cause,’ Vows ‘Unwavering’ Support Until ‘Complete Liberation’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on before a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a new interview applauded the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, arguing that the massacre “revived the Palestinian cause,” according to Iran’s official news agency.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Araghchi gave an interview to the Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera, parts of which were aired on Friday, in which Iran’s top diplomat “praised” the Oct. 7 onslaught. During the rampage, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people, wounded thousands more, and kidnapped 251 hostages to Gaza while perpetrating widespread sexual violence in the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Iran is the chief international backer of Hamas, providing the terrorist group with weapons, funding, and training. According to media reports based on documents seized by the Israeli military in Gaza last year, Iran had been informed about Hamas’s plan to launch the attack months in advance.
Parts of the Al Jazeera interview aired one day after Araghchi pledged Iran’s “unwavering” support to the “Palestinian resistance” while meeting with Hamas leaders in Qatar.
Araghchi “reaffirmed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s unwavering and principled policy of supporting the Palestinian resistance until the full realization of Palestinian rights, including their right to self-determination and the complete liberation of Palestine from [Israeli] occupation,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement describing his visit to Doha.
During his meeting with senior Hamas leaders, Araghchi discussed the reconstruction of Gaza. The talks were attended by prominent figures, including Mohammed Darwish, leader of Hamas’s Shura Advisory Council; Khalil al-Hayya, the terrorist group’s chief negotiator; and other members of the council and political bureau of the militant Islamist movement.
Darwish reportedly described the Oct. 7 attack on Israel as a “turning point” in the Palestinian people’s fight against the Jewish state.
Araghchi also congratulated Hamas on the ceasefire it reached with Israel earlier this month to halt fighting in Gaza that was brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the US.
“The heroic resistance of the people of Gaza proved the lie of the invincibility of the Israeli army to the whole world,” he said.
Thursday’s meeting coincided with Hamas releasing three Israeli and five Thai hostages after 482 days in captivity in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners.
During the first 42 days of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is supposed to release 33 of the remaining hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 onslaught in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, where they have largely been imprisoned for involvement in terrorist activities.
Before siting down with Hamas leaders, Araghchi met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Jassim Al Thani to discuss the ongoing developments in Gaza and Syria, where a new government is taking shape following the collapse of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, a long-time ally of Iran.
Araghchi stressed Iran’s strong and positive relationship with Qatar, reiterating his country’s commitment to expanding ties in various fields.
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‘Deplorable’: Anti-Zionist Activists Pour Concrete Into Toilets at Columbia University
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, in New York, US, April 30, 2024. Photo: Mary Altaffer/Pool via REUTERS
Columbia University was a victim of infrastructural sabotage on Wednesday when an extremist anti-Zionist group flooded the toilets of an academic building with concrete to mark the anniversary of an alleged killing of a Palestinian child.
“Restroom facilities at the School of International and Public Affairs were vandalized with graffiti that included disturbing, personal attacks,” the university said in a statement issued after the attack. “Acts of vandalism of university buildings and property and attempts to harass and intimidate members of our community are unacceptable and abhorrent and will not be tolerated at Columbia.”
Stating that an investigation to identify the culprits — widely believed to be members of the anti-Israel group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) — has been launched, the university continued, “Our buildings and our classrooms are spaces for teaching and learning and we cannot permit them to be disrupted and defaced. We are acting swiftly to address this misconduct and will update the community as we have more information.”
The targeted bathrooms are located on several floors of the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), according to Keren Yarhi-Milo, dean of the school, who addressed the matter. She called the behavior “deplorable, disruptive, and deeply unsettling, as our campus is a space we cherish for learning teaching, and working, and it will not be tolerated.”
Numerous reports indicate the attack may be the premeditated result of planning sessions which took place many months ago at an event held by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) — a literary society, according to the Washington Free Beacon. During the event, the Free Beacon reported, ADP distributed literature dedicated to “aspiring revolutionaries” who wish to commit seditious and subversive acts. Additionally, a presentation was given in which complete instructions for the exact kind of attack which struck Columbia on Wednesday were shared with students.
Columbia University told the Free Beacon that it has notified law enforcement of the event, saying, “We immediately launched an investigation which is ongoing.”
CUAD has proven to be one of the most disruptive pro-Hamas student groups in the country since last academic year, when Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel set off an explosion of anti-Zionist activity.
In April, its members commandeered a section of campus and, after declaring it a “liberated zone,” lit flares and chanted pro-Hamas and anti-American slogans, according to reports. When the New York City Police Department (NYPD) arrived to disperse the unauthorized gathering, hundreds of students reportedly amassed around them to prevent the restoration of order.
“Yes, we’re all Hamas, pig!” one protester was filmed screaming during the fracas, which saw some verbal skirmishes between pro-Zionist and anti-Zionist partisans. “Long live Hamas!” said others who filmed themselves dancing and praising the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization. “Kill another soldier!” they also shouted.
In September, during the university’s convocation ceremony, CUAD distributed literature calling on students to join the Palestinian terrorist group’s movement to destroy Israel.
“This booklet is part of a coordinated and intentional effort to uphold the principles of the thawabit and the Palestinian resistance movement overall by transmitting the words of the resistance directly,” said a pamphlet distributed by CUAD, a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) spinoff, to incoming freshmen. “This material aims to build popular support for the Palestinian war of national liberation, a war which is waged through armed struggle.”
Other sections of the pamphlet were explicitly Islamist, invoking the name of “Allah, the most gracious” and referring to Hamas as the “Islamic Resistance Movement.” Proclaiming, “Glory to Gaza that gave hope to the oppressed, that humiliated the ‘invincible’ Zionist army,” it said its purpose was to build an army of Muslims worldwide.
After almost two years of being accused of cravenly ignoring unlawful and discriminatory behavior, Columbia University has recently made steps towards holding lawbreakers accountable. Earlier this month, it banned from its campus multiple, and suspended another, masked individuals who disrupted an active class last week and proceeded to utter pro-Hamas statements while distributing antisemitic literature.
The agitators had stormed into Professor Avi Shilon’s course, titled “History of Modern Israel,” on the first day of classes of the new semester last Tuesday. Clad in keffiyehs, which were wrapped on their faces to conceal their identities, they read prepared remarks which described the course as “Zionist and imperialist” and a “normalization of genocide.”As part of their performance, which they appeared to film, they dropped flyers, one of which contained an illustration of a lifted boot preparing to trample a Star of David. Next to the drawing was a message that said, “Crush Zionism.”
Columbia University’s handling of campus antisemitism and political extremism will continue to be scrutinized, as it is now legally bound, via civil settlement, to protect the civil rights of Jewish students. In June 2024, it settled a lawsuit in which it was accused by a student of neglecting its obligation to foster a safe learning environment amid riotous pro-Hamas protests that were held at the school throughout the final weeks of the academic year.
The resolution of the case called for Columbia to hire a “Safe Passage Liaison” who will monitor protests and “walking escorts” who will accompany students whose safety is threatened around the campus. Other details of the settlement include “accommodations” for students whose academic lives are disrupted by protests and new security policies for controlling access to school property.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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UFC Head Dana White, Israeli Fighter Natan Levy Respond to Fighter Calling Hitler ‘Good Guy,’ Jews ‘Greedy’
Natan Levy steps on the scale for the official weigh-in at the UFC Apex for UFC Fight Night – Font vs Vera on April 29, 2022 in LAS VEGAS, United States. Photo: Sports Press Photo via Reuters Connect
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White and Israeli UFC fighter Natan Levy slammed American featherweight Bryce Mitchell for “dumb” and “disgusting” comments he made this week, which included praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and denying the Holocaust ever happened.
“I’ve heard a lot of dumb, ignorant s—t in my day, but this one’s probably the worst,” White said during a press conference. “Hitler is one of the most disgusting and evil human beings to ever walk the face of the earth, and anyone who even tries to take an opposing position is a moron. That’s the problem with the internet and social media — you provide a platform for a lot of dumb, ignorant people.” He added that the UFC reached out to Mitchell regarding his comments and said the company is “beyond disgusted.”
Mitchell made a series of antisemitic and shocking comments during the first episode of his new podcast “ArkanSanity,” which he co-hosts with fellow Arkansas native Roli Delgado. The two were discussing Elon Musk’s speech at Capital One Arena after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this month, and how Musk stretched his hand out to salute in a pose that many observers said was reminiscent of the Nazi salute.
“I honestly think that Hitler was a good guy based upon my own research, not my public education indoctrination,” Mitchell then said during the podcast episode, which aired on Saturday. “I really do think, before Hitler got on meth, he was a guy to go fishing with. He fought for his country. He wanted to purify it by kicking out the greedy Jews out that were destroying his country … when he got on meth and turned on Russia, I believe that’s when he [Hitler] got full nutty.”
“W[as] Hitler perfect? No. But he was fighting for his people and he wanted a pure nation,” he added. “These Jews were controlling his country … and now that [Hitler] lost the war, he’s the bad guy.” Mitchell then went on to state, “I’m not a Nazi, I don’t love Nazis, I’m just saying they were in a bad spot and Hitler come to power.”
Levy responded to Mitchell’s comments in a series of posts on X/Twitter on Thursday. “Crazy how a guy blessed by God with so much success and opportunity chooses to pay it forward by spreading hate and division every time he gets a mic,” Levy wrote in one post. “Anyway, next time you see me, you’re welcome to have a real conversation and actually learn about Judaism our history and culture, firsthand. Or, if you’d rather, you can call me a greedy Jew to my face, and we’ll see what’s up.”
He additionally offered to take his UFC rival to a Holocaust museum, to educate him about World War II, or even on a trip to Israel. Levy said he wants Mitchell to learn that “[Israel is] a beautiful land with people just like him, we don’t have horns, we don’t all conspire to take over the world, we just trying to live our lives and enjoy the sun.”
“I’ll make it simple for everyone, Keep my people’s name out your f—king mouth,” he added in another post on X. Levy said that for those defending Mitchell’s freedom of speech, his response was: “Yeah! every idiot is free to speak and I am free to tell them to shut the f—k up.”
During the podcast episode on Saturday, Delgado argued that Hitler was wrong for persecuting Jews, such as forcing them into Nazi concentration camps. In his response, Mitchell denied the Holocaust. “That’s what your public education will tell you, Roli. Because you believe your public education. Because you haven’t done your own research,” Mitchell insisted. “When you realize there is no possible way they could have burned and cremated six million bodies, you’re gonna realize the Holocaust ain’t real.”
“History is HIS-story. History is written by the victor. Hitler lost so you didn’t get to hear his side of the war, you didn’t get to hear how the Jews took his country over,” he suggested. “Do I believe that he tortured Jews to death and killed them and all this stuff for fun? No. I believe they were work camps and they starved to death because [Hitler’s] very army were starving to death … I don’t believe he’s that bad of a guy … Hitler — he was for freedom. Hitler just wanted to free his people. But we can’t talk about the Holocaust like it was a real thing because I don’t believe it. I don’t believe the bulls—t that they try to tell you at the public school.”
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