Experts: ban on Islamic literature increases negative attitude to authorities

The practice of prohibiting Islamic literature in Russia is contrary to the interests of the society and forces many Muslims to oppose their own country, believe the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". They have also treated the list of extremist books exclusively as a political instrument of pressure, rather than a real tool of fighting against extremism.

On June 19, the federal list of extremist materials was complemented with three more Islamic books – this was the decision of the Kotelniki District Court of the city of the Kirov Region of April 16, 2015.

The official press release of the "Sova" Information-Analytical Centre, posted on its website, says that its experts "found no evidence of extremism" in any of the newly banned books. In their view, they were illegally recognized as extremist literature.

In the opinion of Alexander Verkhovskiy, the director of the "Sova", adding classical Islamic works to the list of banned literature will not cause radicalization of the Russia's Muslim community; however, it is a factor of the growth of discontent with the authorities.

Alexei Malashenko, a member of the Scientific Council of the Moscow Carnegie Centre, has noted, in his turn, that the practice of complementing the list of extremist literature is a factor in the growth of tension in the Muslim community; while the lists themselves are, in his opinion, a "political tool."

He noted that this practice "is not conducive to overcoming extremism neither in the country, nor in the Caucasus." "On the contrary, it provokes extremism, since those, who are really engaged in extremist activities, are doing it not verbally, through literature, but by means of Kalashnikov submachine guns and terror acts."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.