Sociocultural aspect of "unifying" and "traditional" value systems in the context of globalization.

Petrov Petr Andreevich 195251, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, ul. Politekhnicheskaya, 29 kalinin11823@gmail.com

         In the modern world, involved in the processes of globalization, there is a situation when global and supranational structures come into conflict with local values and foundations. Pressure from global players on national governments causes opposition in various forms, from the formation of regional economic and political associations to various extreme forms of resistance, in particular, radical and extremist. In the socio-cultural aspect, the confrontation between "global" and "local" systems can be analyzed by the example of the conflict in the Islamic world between traditional and fundamental Islam for supremacy in the Muslim world. In this conflict, both traditionalists and fundamentalists claim that they are the ones guarding the pillars of Islam. At the same time, fundamentalists position their ideology as a modernization of "traditionalism" for its successful competition in the modern world. At the same time, fundamentalism is an "ideological" base for radicals. The fundamentalism-traditionalism conflict is considered by researchers as an ideological confrontation of the main currents of Islam, and fundamentalism manifests itself as a competing and conflicting worldview system with traditional Islam.

    Islamic fundamentalism has become one of the most dangerous challenges for Russia in the late 20th and early 21st century. Despite the almost complete displacement of terrorists in Syria, threats emanating from the territories of the Middle East and Central Asia still remain," he said  Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the fifth meeting of Defense Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, October 20, 2018 ^[1]. These challenges are connected with the flow of extremist activity into Central Asia and some regions of Russia. This trend was noted, for example, by the Director of the FSB of the Russian Federation A.V. Bortnikov at a meeting of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee: "The activities of international terrorist and foreign radical organizations, which, after the defeat of their stronghold in Syria, will seek to continue their activities on the territories of other states, will require special attention of the Russian special services" ^[2].        According to I. P. Dobaev, Islamic radicalism (Islamism) is an ideological doctrine and extremist practice based on it. Islamism is characterized by the normative-value consolidation of the ideological, socio-political, ideological and military confrontation of the world of "true Islam" in relation to the world of "infidels" ^[3]. Among the main trends of Islam, I. V.Fedyai and A. A.Kuznetsov define it as a radical part of fundamentalism ^[4].

Analyzing modern religious extremism in the context of globalization processes, it is impossible not to note its main feature - terrorist and extremist organizations have become network structures.  They are no longer tied to certain regions, as it was before (the Mujahideen and the Taliban, limited to the territory of Afghanistan, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood in the regions of the Middle East). What is the reason for this? Some researchers, for example, S. A. Batchikov, believe that Islamism has become a response to the Western policy of neoliberalism:"The postmodern fundamentalism of terror has become a response to the neoliberal fundamentalism of the United States" ^[20].

However, there is no consensus among researchers on this issue: some authors believe that the neoliberal model of globalization, like Islamic fundamentalism, are antagonists to traditional structures and institutions. Domestic researchers, in particular, A. I. Fursov, I. V. Fedyai, A.A. Kuznetsov, believe that religious fundamentalism in the form of Islamism goes hand in hand with the processes of globalization ^{[4, p. 20]}.

Islamism in this vein can be designated as an instrument of influence, which was initially "locally" used in anti-Russian and anti-Soviet activities - first of all, Islamists were involved by Western powers, such as Great Britain in the 18th century and the United States in the 20th and 21st centuries. The first attempt to involve Islamic radicals in the struggle against Russia can be considered the Caucasian War of 1817-1864 ^[5]. During this war, Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire stimulated and supported the anti-Russian policy of the peoples of the Caucasus. According to A. R. Sitokhova and A. K. Cheucheva, they used the ideology of Islamic fundamentalism as the idea of creating a Circassian state independent of Russia ^{[5] [6]}. K. Marx and F. Engels advocated the transformation of the Crimean War from a local to a world war ("war of nationalities" against Russia) ^{[23, p.9]}. At the end of the 20th century, fundamentalist and extremist forces were again used against Russia during the Afghan War, when the Afghan Mujahideen were involved by the special services of Western countries in the fight against the USSR ^{[7] [8]}. The operation to support the activities of extremists to confront Russia in Afghanistan was called "Cyclone", and was carried out by the American government with the assistance of a number of other countries, this operation was covered in detail by such foreign authors as A. Cockburn, J. St. Clair, S. Coll, D. Barlet, J. Stiel and P. Bergen ^{[9] [10] [11]}.

At the same time, the consequences of supporting radicals and stimulating their activities were not taken into account. So Zb. Brzezinski, who in the early years of the Afghan war was the national security adviser to the US President D. Carter, said in an interview, answering a journalist's question about whether he knew about the support of fundamentalists in Afghanistan: "What is more important in world history - the Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet Empire? Some exalted Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War? /.../ global Islam does not exist. Look at Islam rationally, without demagoguery and emotions. It is the world's leading religion with 1.5 billion followers. But what is there in common between fundamentalist Saudi Arabia, moderate Morocco, militaristic Pakistan, pro-Western Egypt or secularist Central Asia? Nothing more than what unites Christian countries"^[12].

As a result, such "flirting" with extremists led to global consequences - the emergence of global terrorism and the ongoing fighting in Afghanistan, to the "big war" in the Middle East (in Syria, Iraq, Libya), and in general - to the main conflict in modern Islam - between traditional Islam and Islamic Wahhabi fundamentalism.

"Traditionalism is a version of Islam that is historically peculiar to a particular nationality, region or country, with certain rules and stereotypes of behavior associated with it. Traditionalism implies the inseparability of ethnic and confessional principles and, consequently, limited distribution in one territory" ^{[3, p.20]}. Originating in a certain cultural-historical or civilizational space, traditional Islam is integrated into the social structures created in the same space, becoming the subject of this space or civilization. It develops together with other structures and interacts with them in forms of cooperation. But in the context of globalizing influence, traditional Islam acts in opposition to the fundamentalist and transnational systems that are gaining weight.

Fundamentalism, in turn, imposes an interpretation of Islam in which there is no place for cultural, historical and ethnic peculiarities. Fundamentalism acts as a unifying force for Islam, which seeks to "purify” it from socio-cultural and historical features. Traditional Islam, on the contrary, is formed and developed taking into account these features in line with a certain statehood, traditional spirituality and national-ethnic specifics. In the course of the historical process, traditional religious forms are integrated into the state and society through institutions, traditions, worldview and ideology, thereby defining national and state specifics, which acts as a deterrent to globalization pressure. In this regard, traditional Islam, rooted in the soil, culture and statehood, will always resist globalization unification. I. V. Fedyai and A. A. Kuznetsov believe that fundamentalism, which has turned into a network structure, has become part of the globalist project and thereby lost its own content and goals, which are declared only nominally in the religious sphere ^{[3, p.24]}. For Islamic fundamentalism in such a situation, the possibility of having its own vector of development becomes very problematic. On the contrary, fundamentalism, going beyond national and state frameworks, becomes a unifying model that destroys traditional institutions and systems not only in Islam, but also in non-religious spheres. Fundamentalism with its idea of building a "world caliphate" opposes the national state and all its systems, as well as against all societies that are not carriers of a religious worldview.

Traditionalism strives to preserve existing models of relations, institutions and structures, fundamentalism, on the contrary, insists on the need to change the existing order with the subsequent radical restructuring of all social models. According to I.V. Fedyai and A.A. Kuznetsov, "fundamentalism is organically integrated into the "mondialist neoliberal project", and does not offer it some kind of civilizational alternative at all. The fundamentalist project fits into the cultural strategy of the transnational sense and into the globalization processes in general. Being an alternative only to traditionalism in Islam and opposing traditional institutions and systems" ^{[4, p.24]}.

  Thus, fundamentalism arises precisely as part of globalization processes and is asserted in this context as an instrument of necessary transformations. A. I. Fursov believes that the radical part of fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism, are used to manage globalization processes ^[21]. Fundamentalism acts as a tool for the destruction of the historically established Muslim statehood in the Middle East and other regions for the destruction of traditional Islamic structures. It is in relation to the fundamental foundations of Islam that the main contradiction of fundamentalism manifests itself: declaring the protection of the "foundation" and pillars of faith under the guise of strengthening and transforming them, the functioning viable traditional structures and forms of it are destroyed for centuries. Fundamentalism, by "modernizing" existing systems, contributes to their destruction. By replacing traditional forms of Islam with its structures, it creates pockets of instability and generates conflicts.

According to a number of scientists, fundamentalism is embedded in the existing globalizing system of relationships as a destabilizing factor, its conflict and the desire to destroy traditional structures and institutions are in the hands of globalizers ^{[4, p.26]}.  "It is obvious that Islamic fundamentalism as a radical part of Islam is not at all a fighter against globalization, a reaction to its negative consequences for Muslim culture" ^{[4, p.26]}. K. H. Delokharov believes that globalization produces terror as its own product ^[22]. Postmodern fundamentalism, which has resulted in terror, is becoming a response to the neoliberal fundamentalism of the United States. In this respect, international terrorism is the twin of TNCs - "Terror, including Islamic terror, has become a response to the terror of the "new world order" and feeds on hatred of the entire diversity of social and cultural identities that are repressed and humiliated by the current globalization" ^{[22, p.1]}.

Thus, fundamentalism is becoming one of the tools of the globalization process. It is a form of mobilization of Muslims for the destruction of traditional systems. O. Chetverikova, analyzing Islamism, presents it as a strategic line of supranational agents in building a "civilization of new nomads" - a civilization of people who have no attachment to anything ^{[24, p.624]}. She believes that the mercantile benefits of using radical Islam by supranational capital are quite obvious. Firstly, traditional structures acting as counterparties of globalization processes are being destroyed by someone else's hands. Secondly, a hotbed of instability is being created in the Islamic world, preventing the consolidation of Islam.

Speaking about possible threats from fundamentalism, Russia cannot be bypassed either. Such authors as L. L. Khoperskya, A. Nabiev, I. Ya. Shakirova, A. A. Kazantsev and R. A. Silantyev believe that due to some peculiarities and the historically prevailing situation in Russia and the near abroad there are regions affected by Islamic radicalism. These are Chechnya, Dagestan and to a lesser extent Tatarstan, Bashkiria and the Volga region. Outside of Russia, these are the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan ^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]}. Islam in Russia is mainly represented by its Sunni branch of the Hanifite persuasion. In Russia, two major regions of its distribution can be distinguished – the North Caucasus and the Volga region (Tatarstan and Bashkiria). Traditional Islam in Russia is represented by the spiritual administrations of Muslims (DUMAS), which include various Muslim institutions – mosques, madrassas, communities, etc. It is institutionalized and has the form of an administrative structure. Such Islam is called "mosque" and "official". The radicals in the person of Islamic fundamentalists of the Salafi and Wahhabi persuasion are against him. They seek to negate the significance of traditional Islam, create a "world caliphate" and establish sharia law. As it was noted earlier, in the North Caucasus, Wahhabi radicals have long been used by Russia's opponents to destabilize and divide Russian society. Another region that is fraught with a threat from Islamic radicals is Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, since the citizens of these countries are traditionally labor migrants in the Russian Federation. According to Rosstat, migration growth from these countries averages about 500,000 people per year (536,157 people in 2015, 511,773 people in 2016) ^[19].  However, Russia's opponents have failed to ignite a conflict on its territory based on contradictions between traditional and fundamentalist Islam ^[18].