Moscow’s Arrests of Muslim Spiritual Directorate Officials Likely to Backfire

(Paul Globe – Jamestown Foundation) Moscow has launched a campaign of arrests against officials of the Muslim Spiritual Directorates (MSDs) that the Russian government has long used to control a religion without either a genuine clergy or anything like the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. This move comes in the wake of a suggestion by a Chechen leader now in emigration that Muslims in the Russian Federation are ready to seize power. It is intended to intimidate Russia’s Muslims and possibly lead to the establishment of a single MSD. This move is likely to backfire not only because it highlights the paranoia of officials and anger of Russian nationalists but also because it will increase the fissiparousness of the Muslim community and open the way for radicalization. – Moscow’s Arrests of Muslim Spiritual Directorate Officials Likely to Backfire – Jamestown