Interesting stuff. The government site seems very governmental, dull and not very informative; a good propaganda opportunity missed. The kavkaz site is obviously a superior job, though I can't understand it. I'm curious, though, about its purpose. Is it aimed at Russians, as one would expect from the language? If so, what is it trying to accomplish? To convince them that the war is unwinnable? Surely if they seek international support a site offering material in English and the European languages would be more effective.
I had to laugh at the similarities between the press releases on the qoqaz site and the ones on the morojihad site. They could have been written by the same person, with their glowing descriptions of conclusive mujahedin victories and staggering casualties among the foreign oppressors. One wonders that there are any oppressors left.
Two questions:
1. (I have the uncomfortable sense that I've asked this before, and that you could cite the post in which I did, but I'll ask it anyway.) You mentioned that the traditional form of Islam in Chechnya is Sufi, and that the Wahhabis are relative newcomers. I've always thought of the Sufi as a mystical subsect; the term conjures up images of the wandering ascetic. Are there settled Sufi communities? To what extent does their religious practice resemble the Western (and doubtless oversimplified) notion of the Sufi?
2. (A little shorter, but no simpler) If the Russians were to depart tomorrow, do you think there would be anything like peace in Chechnya? What is the likelihood of a functional government being formed.
I ask because in Muslim Mindanao I would consider the likelihood to be close to nil.
I should also clarify: you asked if the average Moro supports the jihad; I replied that I think they do, and that they know that the Christians are the enemy. I should have mentioned that the root of the conflict is not religion, but land. The Muslims do not acknowledge the official legal system and know little of it. The Christian settlers have frequently managed to get legal title to land occupied by Muslims; the Christian-dominated military have frequently enforced these legal "rights". In this sense; the conflict is less religious than tribal: the minority tribes in the north share many of the same complaints about their lowland neighbors.
I wonder how Islam as practiced in the Southern Philippines compares to orthodox Islam, and how it would fit into the Sunni/Wahhabi/Shi'ite paradigm. I suspect that it is very different, and that a good deal of pre-Islamic folk belief has worked its way in. This is certainly the case with Filipino Catholicism, which in its grassroots incarnations would be unrecognizable to the Vatican. The hierarchy, in fact, has to regularly distance itself from practices such as the mass flagellations and ritual crucifixions that take place every Good Friday, and from the ease with which rural Philippine Catholics incorporate the local spirits and heroes into the Catholic pantheon.
I wonder if the same influences exist in Moro religious culture, and if there is actually more common ground than either side admits. It would be a fascinating study for someone, but not me; I know little of Islam to begin with. In any event, local conditions suggest that this is not the best time for such an inquiry. For all I know it's already been done, and resides in some archive somewhere. |
