Last Week in the News

A group of 600 mothers of middle schoolers in Tatarstan filed a complaint with the Russian education minister concerning the preference of Tatar over Russian education in the Republic. The complaint stated that in Tatarstan, schoolchildren only have 1200 hours of Russian-language education as compared to the rest of the Federation, where children receive 1700 hours. This letter has caused quite the stir, not only in Tatarstan, where the national language is Tatar, but elsewhere in the Russian Federation as well. Most interestingly, a number of the signatories of the letter are Tatars themselves, who state that learning Tatar is "useless." This has caused an uproar amongst Tatar intellectuals who see this document as culturally traitorous. An ethnic Russian-biased news group, Regnum, has circulated the letter and intentionally inflammatory articles throughout the Federation in support of enforcing Russian-language education. Although these events are playing out in the Middle Volga, there are some direct parallels to the situation in Crimea. While Crimean Tatar is not an official language in the ARC, and only a few schools that teach it, there have been great efforts on the part of the Crimean Tatars to change that fact, as I've explored in previous posts. What this news story could signal, however, is a Russian backlash against national language education and recognition. I also got the sense that the language issue is only the gateway to a larger argument, with both ethnic and religious components. Because of Ukraine's geographic proximity to Russia if nothing else, we could see a spill-over of the same sentiments into Ukraine, especially among the ethnic Russians.

Ukraine, however, is not Russia, and as the initial stages of these debates in Tatarstan are only getting started, there is no cause for alarm. In fact, a statement from Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, applauded Ukraine for its effort in maintaining an open dialog between the various religious groups of the country and the central government. This statement came following an international conference in Kyiv on "World religions and civil societies united against hatred and extremism" hosted by the Institute of Human Rights and Prevention of Extremism and Xenophobia. Zed stated that Ukraine is setting a good example for the world in holding an interfaith dialog. While I could find no official report of this meeting other than in the news sources that RISU cites, these meeting historically emphasize dialog between Christian sects, with little or no representation for other groups, such as the Crimean Tatars. However, following Azarov's comments earlier in April that he is ready and willing to begin a dialog with the Tatars, and because of the international nature of this conference, I would imagine that Ukrainian Muslims would have participated.

On the subject of Ukrainian Muslims, and also hearkening back to a previous article about Slavs increasingly converting to Islam, Paul Karazin of Religion in Ukraine has posted a transcript of his interview with Oleg Kalenchuk, a Russian Muslim who lives in Crimea, because the muftis thereof preach and practice what Kalenchuk feels is the closest to "true Islam." He has learned Crimean Tatar and is working on Arabic. In the interview, Kalenchuk discusses his conversion to Islam and the societal and personal problems that caused for himself and his family. Karazin's questions feel to be on the antagonistic side, as he asks if Kalenchuk has been called dirty names, if he'd ever participate in a jihad, and what would happen if Islam ruled the world. They also discuss the current attitudes and stereotypes that Muslims face--particularly the Islamophobia following 9/11 and the Chechen wars. In all, it gives a good insight into the challenges that Muslims in Ukraine--including the Crimean Tatars--face on a daily basis when interacting with their non-Muslim neighbors. While representatives and governments may be on working terms with each other, as evidenced by the recent forum and discussions, there is still a long way to go for equal treatment on the ground.

Articles referenced in this post:

Kazan parents’ call for studying Russian not Tatar sparks conflicts about more than language

https://www.kyivpost.com/blogs/blogger/469/post/6079/

Hindus Laud Ukraine for Taking Lead in Interfaith Dialogue

http://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/other_confessions/other_beliefs/41951/

Русские мусульмане – Бог вместо Родины. Интервью русского мусульманина из Крыма (For a Russian Muslim, God is higher than Nation. An interview with a Russian Muslim from Crimea)

http://www.religion.in.ua/zmi/foreign_zmi/9529-russkie-musulmane-bog-vmesto-rodiny-intervyu-russkogo-musulmanina-iz-kryma.html

This Week in the News

On April 7, President Viktor Yanukovich signed a bill which alters the Ukrainian constitution in regards to the central government's relationship to the ARC, including land reform and allotments. This, the President said, is in agreement with his personal politics--i.e., regionalism--and the constitution of the ARC; the Kyiv Post mentions that this was against the advice of "some experts." I looked for more references to this act and unfortunately I could find none. As such, I cannot comment on the types of reforms that this new bill will introduce. This does, however, come after a speech by the President wherein he has announced his plans to return to a mixed electoral parliamentary system in order to modernize the system and to cut down on election fraud.

Analyst and blogger Paul Goble has issued a review-cum-response of an article by Anna Steshenko in RosBalt.ru, the original on the "hidden Islamization of Ukraine" appearing on 31 March. Steshenko attests in a hostile and frankly islamophobic manner that in the past twenty years, over a million Slavs in Ukraine have converted to Islam, and that Kyiv's policies toward Islam foster radical Islamic movements. She also criticized Ukraine for not supporting Russian efforts in Chechnya by allowing Chechen refugees asylum, ridicules the idea that Ukraine can be a model of any kind to Russia, and closes her article on a note of condescension and derision. It was clear from her attacking tone that the article was intended to drum up fear and religio-racial strife. Goble picks up on this too, and criticizes her article because of it. He surmises that Steshenko has probably distorted her statistics (attributed to Gennady Udovenko of Narodny Rukh) and additionally exaggerated the numbers further to push her agenda. However, that is Goble's main critique. He leaves her argumentative tone alone and does nothing to rebuff Steshenko's fearmongering. Because Steshenko did not provide any sources besides Udovenko, her allegations especially into Kyiv's policies on Muslims and Islam and the Muslim group "Alraid" ring hollow and specious. This kind of malicious journalism helps no one resolve conflicts or issues--in this case, the treatment of Muslims and Islam--it only serves to polarize the debate, devolving it into a series of ad hominem attacks which betray any attempts at successful negotiation. I applaud Mr. Goble for holding Ms. Steshenko accountable for her trumped-up statements, but I criticize him for not going far enough.

Articles referenced in this post:

Yanukovych backs Crimean autonomy

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/101835/

Ukraine should return to mixed electoral system of parliamentary elections, says president

http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/65607/

Window on Eurasia: Have ‘More than a Million Slavs in Ukraine’ Become Muslims Since 1991?

http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2011/04/window-on-eurasia-have-more-than.html

Скрытая исламизация Украины (The Hidden Islamization of Ukraine)

http://www.rosbalt.ru/ukraina/2011/03/31/834517.html