Orenburg state university

Against Global Terrorism

At the end of January international seminar took place in Orenburg, where countermeasures against ISIS (terrorist organization forbidden in Russia) were discussed.

Heads of "Commonwealth of Eurasian Nations" and Spiritual Directorate of Orenburg Region Muslims gathered Muslim leaders and experts of Russia and Kazakhstan. Venaliy Amelin — Director of OSU Scientific Research Institute of South Ural History and Ethnography as well as its employees Denis Denisov and Konstantin Morgunov took part in the meeting’s organization. OSU Vice-Rectors Grigoriy Piatkin and Sergey Semenov participated in the seminar.

Experts of RAS Oriental Studies Institute Nikolay Plotnikov and Alexandr Marinin explained that this terrorist organization forbidden in Russia searches followers by means of social networks for war in Syria and Iraq under the slogan of social justice, but in reality it carries horror and destruction, practice mass executions, slave trade and organs transplantation. In spite of the fact that average life duration of followers is less two months, 2 400 Russians and 3 000 citizens from CIS countries joined the terrorist group.

The first deputy mufti of Kazakhstan Serikbay Oraz noted that extremists disfigure sacred texts purposely in order to make terrible crimes. The chairman of Spiritual Directorate of Orenburg Region Muslims Alfit Sharipov referring to Koran and words of Prophet Muhammad showed incompatibility of terrorism with Islam, which prohibits murder, self-detonation and women participation in war. The imam of West-Kazakhstan Region Ruslan Sultanov considered that only centralized educational work can stand against this danger, wherefore unified sermon books were accepted in Spiritual Directorate of Kazakhstan Muslims for pronouncing in a one day throughout the country.

Law enforcement agencies of CIS countries combine efforts within the framework of created Antiterrorist Center. According to the Center representative Marianna Kochubey information exchange is performed preventing financing, recruitment and dispatch of mercenaries on Near East. As an example of successful measures she mentioned Kazakhstan where access to more than 80 000 page with extremists’ propaganda and massacre videos was blocked. But it is impossible to solve this problem without participation of public representatives.

Member of Russian Public Chamber Elena Sutormina shared own experience of extremism preventive measures. Special hotline for relatives of hooked people is opened by the Chamber. Over 50 phone calls from 23 regions of Russia and Kazakhstan were answered for the last month. Anti-ISIS (forbidden in Russian Federation) manual was established.

Yana Amelina, political expert from Vladikavkaz showed that wide Islamic community doesn’t share radical views by the example of Dagestan. Fifty two percents of respondents support Russian military actions against terrorists in Syria. However the situation should be explained among local and newcomer Muslims. The director of Migrants Testing Center from Ekaterinburg Aleksey Starostin noted that only 9% of migrants visit mosques regularly. That’s why spiritual leaders should work with people visiting hostels, construction sited and other places of mass being.

Generally, the seminar members decided to join efforts of Russia and Kazakhstan fighting against the general trans-border danger for our countries.