Nalchik/Agency Caucasus – The administration of Kabardino-Balkaria, which is being very careful after Nalchik, its capital, was thrown into chaos on September 13, 2005, due to a revolt by suppressed religious young people, invited Ahmet Yarlikov, a famous expert on religion, to come to the country and to enlighten the people about ‘religious radicalism,’ something that shook the authority of the country’s present religious institution.
Ahmed Yarlıkov, who does research on Islam at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has been participating in a series of conferences for the past two days. These conferences are being organized by the State Committee, which is in charge of civilian unison and young people.
Yarlikov addressed on Tuesday first a group of students of economics and law, then a group of readers at the National Library of Kabardino-Balkaria, and heads of local administration commissions in charge of religious organizations. He talked about Islamic radicalism, wahhabism, and jihad.
In February, a civilian consultation meeting was held at the Interior Ministry of Kabardino-Balkaria to discuss the danger of religious extremism. Anas Pshihachev, top religious authority of Kabardino-Balkaria, said that religious extremism had not lose its strength. Yuri Tomchak, Interior Minister of Kabardino-Balkaria, called on both religious authorities and local administrators to cooperate in the fight against extremism. KU/ÖZ/FT
