New Eastern Europe - November-December 2017

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likely to join Islamist groups. In fact,

the reality is more complex. You have

to look at the specific dynamics of dif-

ferent recruitment groups, people who

operate in them and specific recruitment

targets. So certainly, in the rural parts

of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or Uzbekistan,

there are large numbers of youth without

proper education, without proper facili-

ties for education and not really having

a clear sense of hope for a better future.

Many of them now work in Russia, but it

is becoming increasingly more difficult

due to a rise in anti-migrant attitudes.

Also, the stringent migration legislation

in Russia, the corruption surrounding

it, in addition to the declining rouble,

have led migrant earnings to decrease

by around 20 per cent. Since the remit-

tances have shrunk, there are fewer in-

centives to go to Russia to work.

The number of young people in Cen-

tral Asia who do not really have many

opportunities is growing. Exposure to

radical Islamic literature makes them

psychologically vulnerable, because the

specific interpretation they are exposed

to is very narrow. So when it comes to

processes leading to radicalisation, tar-

geting the vulnerable youth by radical

Islamic activists is clearly a factor. The

governments, of course, are trying to

combat these activities, but in doing so

they also crackdown on some legitimate

expressions of Islam and some legitimate

societal groups. Thus, it is no longer seen

as an effective mechanism for combating

the growing influence of radical groups.

What does the recruitment process look

like in Russia?

It is mostly in places like Moscow and

other large cities. There are recruitment

agents operating in mosques and around

mosques promoting Islamic literature.

Many of these people are multilingual.

I myself have been approached by men

who spoke very good English in Moscow.

They may be of Uzbek, Tajik or Dagest-

ani descent, and speak English, Russian

or French. These people are selling and

distributing Islamic literature and trying

to offer a better way of life to the youth.

But the religious institutions are not the

only spaces where recruitment takes

place. There are also cultural groups,

cafés and tea houses, sport clubs, gyms,

fitness centres – such encounters can

happen anywhere. And of course, there

are social media and the internet in gen-

eral which have been crucial in reach-

ing out to the Muslim youth. There are

many extremist websites and Muslims

are exposed to messages about Jihadist

groups or receive offers to join them.

People are specifically targeted, espe-

cially via Facebook and social media in

the Russian language.

Bhavna Davé is a senior lecturer on Central Asian politics in the department of politics and

international studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska is an editor with New Eastern Europe.

Opinion & Analysis The complex reality of radicalisation in Central Asia, Interviewer: Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska