Experts differ in assessing consequences of Dagestani militants' taking oath to "Islamic State"

The oath taken by Amir of Dagestani militants Abu Muhammad to the terrorist organization of the "Islamic State" (IS), and the actions of Kebekov, who appointed a new Amir of Dagestan, have caused varying assessments of the experts, questioned by the "Caucasian Knot".

In the opinion of Akhmed Tangiev, a theologian and a member of the expert council to combat extremism under the head of Ingushetia, the oath of the leader of Dagestani militants was just a PR move. According to his version, the oath will not cause a split among the militants, because they lack a common association with ideology.

According to the journalist Orhan Cemal, the oath to the "Islamic State" is a reflection of the confrontation that exists in Northern Caucasus as a whole, and in Dagestan, in particular, between relatively moderate Islamists, Kebekov among them, and adherents of radical jihadism. After the events of the last few months, in particular, repressions against militants' relatives in Chechnya, the sentiments of those "in the forest" has substantially swayed towards radicalization, he added.

Evgeny Satanovskiy, the President of the Middle East Institute, has described the process, occurring in the armed underground of Dagestan as "a conflict of single-minded people, funded by same donors." In his opinion, the "Imarat Kavkaz" and the IS receive financial support from Qatar.

Experts do not believe that those who have sworn in Dagestan start borrowing the IS' tactics, which includes mass executions and attacks on civilians.

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