As a result of the mass hysteria caused by information about the construction of a Muslim eco-settlement «Aware» under Moscow (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=40052), the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, instructed his department to investigate its legality. Of course, one hopes to be mistaken and wishes the supporters success, but given the surrounding circumstances and the way the «law enforcement» system works in Russia, there is every reason to suspect that the story of «Aminovka» will end before it really begins. For the future, it will serve as a lesson for Muslims who want to create a comfortable living environment — remember the country you live in, do more and attract less attention.
But now we are not talking about this particular project or similar ones, but about the need for a different kind of «awareness», not the trendy kind taught by psychologists and coaches, but real awareness, awareness of the reality in which Muslims in Russia find themselves, and without changing this reality, all their vanilla projects will end up the same way. Only a blind person cannot see that on the eve of the elections the authorities and the media working for them have orchestrated a «patriotic mobilization». Various reasons are given for this — «persecution of Russian speakers» in post-Soviet states, «Russophobia» of foreign bloggers or comedians, immigrant struggles in Moscow, and so on. As a result, the authorities, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the mayor’s office, and so on, get the opportunity to present themselves to society as «defenders of national interests,» banning some people from entering Russia, protesting against others, or threatening others with the finger.
It is not worth dwelling on the fact that all this angry and fervent activity is just an imitation — that is already obvious. The problem lies elsewhere — populism aimed at mobilizing votes and sympathies of voters rather than solving their problems is inevitable and not exclusive to Russia.
But the question is, why is the potential reaction of Muslims in Russia completely ignored on the eve of the elections? And if, in the case of immigrants, the answer to this question may lie in the fact that they are neither citizens nor voters, the same cannot be said of native Russian Muslims, who have been sacrificed for the sake of the show punishment of the «Aminovka» project. After all, its initiator, Amina Shabanova, is a Tatar, and Ruslan Kurbanov, who promoted it, is from Dagestan. But if in Tatarstan not only Orthodox churches are freely built, but also new settlements for Orthodox inhabitants (including Cossacks), why can’t Tatar-Muslims organize such a settlement near Moscow? If Tatarstan had a government that based its policies on public opinion rather than pandering to the Kremlin in Moscow, it could ask such a question aloud or, as an option, offer its mediation services in resolving the emerging conflicts over this settlement.
But the reality is that the Tatarstan government will not ask such questions, and we all understand why. As for the government of Dagestan, there is nothing to say — it has been under direct colonial administration by Moscow appointees for several years now.
But the worst part of this situation is not that the authorities of the Muslim republics cannot raise their voices in defense of the rights of their people. The worst part is that they meekly serve the authorities and their party — «United Russia», which demonstratively disregards Russian Muslims (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=40028). However, the majority of votes for «United Russia» will come from Muslim republics. And this will be done not only by officials directly appointed by Moscow with Russian surnames, but also by local Muslims (?) who demonstratively go to the mosque, observe fasting, and so on.
That is why all such «mobilizations» before the elections in Russia are directed against Muslims. After all, the authorities do not need to mobilize their votes — the Muslims themselves will do it. And it will continue as long as there is a power and political vertical in Russia that makes Muslim electoral mobilization impossible, as well as the lack of independence of the authorities of the Muslim republics and their ability to defend the interests of their citizens in the Federation.
Without realizing the need to change all this, all projects of «awareness» in this country are doomed to failure.