The Spread of the Post-Industrial Islamism in the Russian Federation

Abstract

Radical Islam as a political phenomenon has undergone significant changes during the first decades of the 21st century. This process was accompanied, firstly, by the strengthening unification trends in the ideological field, and secondly, by the development of a specific “Jihadi Cool” subculture that combined the features of the consumer society (modern music, stylish clothes, Islamic merch, youth magazines, etc.) and jihadist agenda. These factors, in combination, form a new version of religious radicalism - post-industrial Islamism, which poses a significant threat to international security. Questions regarding the degree and the nature of post-industrial Islamism in the Russian Federation have not yet been scrutinized in academic literature. The article is the first attempt to understand this problem, which exists in a complex socio-economic and ethno-confessional environment of Russia. The theoretical framework of the study was the works of leading domestic Islamic scholars dealing with the problems of Islamic radicalism. In the indicated paradigm, the authors made an attempt to give their own definition of radical Islam, to identify the characteristic features of the phenomenon, to separate religious extremism from fundamentalism. Work with the empirical base was carried out through the methods of descriptive statistics, as well as the use of qualitative and quantitative content analysis. It was made on the basis of Google Trends data, cross-checked through the Wordstat.yandex system. In conclusion, the team of authors came to conclusions regarding the spread of post-industrial Islamism in Russia. There is an increase in the activity of radicals in the Internet space, their work to expand the base of support for the movement, based on knowledge of the algorithms of social networks. Also, elements of the ‘jihadi cool’ have been identified too. It is important to note that all the trends listed above originated outside the Russian Federation and were borrowed by the radicals. In general, this only confirms the idea of the peripheral nature of Russian Islamic radicalism, which throughout its history has been an alien element on the national ethno-cultural environment.