Summer camps: Islam and a bit of sport

Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan will verify the information on extremist nature of Muslim spiritual and recreational camps attended by students from Russia. Why send Russian children to religious camps abroad if there are plenty of those in the Russian Federation? However, the activity of the latter also has unacceptable elements.

The inspection was prompted by the information posted on the website News of the Altai Mountains and stating that one of the organizers of the trip to Kazakhstan is Imam Serzhan Svatov. The imam is currently under investigation with respect to a criminal case of extremist nature, namely, organization of the activities of religious association Tablighi Jamaat prohibited on the territory of Russia. As established by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the purpose of the religious association is world domination through the spread of radical forms of Islam and the establishment of an Islamic state "World Caliphate."

Altai prosecuting authorities began their investigation that "will assess the legality of the organizers and others persons associated with sending children to spiritual wellness Muslim camps in Kazakhstan, the activities of these camps, and legality of taking children out of the Russian Federation unaccompanied by their parents," states the site of the prosecution office.

Serzhan Svatov, the imam of Kosh-Agach mosque, commented as follows: "We were surprised by this reaction. Parents cannot understand what they did wrong, why their children cannot receive the spiritual and moral education in their homeland in formal camps whose activity is entirely under the control of the Spiritual Administration of Kazakhstan. We are all in shock! People are outraged, we did not expect such an outcome of the organization of summer holidays," Bankfaks agency quoted Svatov.

However, the authorities of Kazakhstan, in contrast to the Imam of Kosh-Agach, do not believe that the activities of such camps are controlled by the Spiritual Administration of Kazakhstan. Recently, efforts to prevent the spread of Wahhabism among the youth were enhanced in the country. "At this time, on behalf of the head of the government, a state program on combating religious extremism and terrorism in the Republic of Kazakhstan was established and will be implemented over a five-year period," said Kairat Lama Sharif, chairman of the Agency for Religious Affairs at the scientific and practical conference "Islam and jihadism" in Aktau, wrote BNews. kz. It was decided to return Kazakh students studying in religious institutions abroad to Kazakhstan.
 

According to Lama Sharif, today392 citizens of the country study Islam in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other countries, many under the patronage of Tablighi Jamaat considered banned and extremist in Kazakhstan. Security officials of Kazakhstan found that of the 52 Zhambyl residents studying theology at the universities of Pakistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh, 41 people were members of the organization.

"This wave (of inspections) started after a recent speech at the parliamentary hour of the chairman of the Kazakhstan Agency for Religious Affairs Kairat Lam Sharif. He reported to the parliament on the measures his department is taking to prevent the activities of extremist organizations in the religious sphere. This is the only thing I can think of to explain such a keen interest to the activities of Muslim religious camps attended by Russian citizens on the territory of Kazakhstan. So far there is no information on what is going on in these camps, we have to wait for the results of the investigation," Alexei Vlasov , a historian, political scientist, and the Director of the Information and Analytical Center for the Study of the post-Soviet space MSU-RSUH told Pravda.Ru.

It should be noted that there are many Muslim recreational and educational camps for children in the Russian Federation, not only in the Muslim republics, but in places like Saratov, Tyumen, Izhevsk, Penza, Khabarovsk region, Moscow and the Altai region. Why send Russian children to Kazakhstan? However, there are questions to the Russian Muslim camps as well.

For example, URA agency, citing IA IslamNews Muslim, reported that Muslim students in a training camp near Tyumen had paramilitary training. The students worked with unarmed combat and military training instructors, and studied the national traditions and fundamentals of Islam. Head of the camp, Mufti Garifullin in 2010 called on Moscow Muslims to pray in Orthodox churches. He is also the Regional Mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Asiatic Russia (DUM). Meanwhile, Imam Ilkhom Merazhov was recently convicted for the creation of a group of Nurdzhular in Omsk, an organization banned in Russia. This is quite an alarming fact.     

What are these camps training their students for? Are the authorities aware of these activities? Incidentally, more attention should be paid to the threat of infiltration of extremist ideas into its structure. The experience of other countries shows that extremist organizations are not working with outcasts, but young people, providing them with support in their civil service carrier, including in the security forces.

Lyuba Lulko

 

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Author`s name Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
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