TARTU, Estonia, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The North Ossetian mufti who attempted to negotiate with the Beslan terrorists in September now says that his intervention appears to have provoked a split within the hostage-holders' ranks, may have saved some lives, and should be a model for cooperation between the authorities and Islam in the future.
Ruslan-khadzhi Valgasov, the mufti of North Ossetia, said in an interview posted on the Islam.ru site yesterday that during the Beslan hostage crisis, he had spoken to the guerrillas via a loudspeaker in the hope that he could remind them of their Islamic heritage and get them to release those they had seized and lay down their arms.
"But unfortunately," Valgasov continued, as far as he and the world could see at that time, "there was no result. Several times I gave them a telephone number they could use and proposed that we quietly discuss a way out of the crisis situation. But they answered only with bullets."
He said, however, that he later found out from law enforcement officials that his words could have had a significant impact. Many involved in the hostage taking -- Valgasov said officials had told him -- "initially did not know anything about what they were doing.
"Having seen children through their gun sights," the mufti continued, "part of (those involved in the hostage taking) were revolted. The situation became more complicated after our attempts to enter into contact with the terrorists. Everything ended with the gang leader shooting those who had become upset by what was going on."
Valgasov said that he was not in a position to personally confirm this version of events, but he said that officials in the Russian force structures had insisted to him that "precisely after" his intervention, "a conflict took place within the band" that had taken the children hostage.
Three things about Valgasov's comments this week are worth noting. First, Valgasov is now clearly suggesting that during the September crisis, at least some Russian officials were willing at that time to give Muslim leaders a chance to intervene, even though these officials were not prepared to acknowledge that at the time.
Indeed, Valgasov first came to broader public notice in Russia because of his complaints about the Russian media's distorted accounts about Muslim involvement in the Beslan tragedy. During the crisis, Russian media seldom reported that many Muslim children were among the victims, something that has remains a sore point for Muslims throughout Russia.
Russian media also routinely insisted at that time that there were Arabs among the extremists at Beslan, something that now appears to be untrue. On Dec. 2, the Saudi ambassador to the Russian Federation told IslamNews.ru that the FSB intelligence service had given him "documentary confirmation" that no Arabs had taken part in the Beslan hostage crisis.
Second, Valgasov is suggesting that Russian officials should make better use of the expertise some Muslim leaders have whenever they deal with such events or try to prevent the spread of extremism.
Unfortunately, Valgasov said, many officials, especially in the militia, know little or nothing about Islam and take actions that only further exacerbate the situation. Such officers, he continued, often "run to the mosques in search of terrorists without understanding that there cannot be any of them there by definition."
And third, Valgasov is also suggesting that many of the more senior officials in the Russian Islamic establishment need to become more active both to deal with the problems of the increasing number of young people who have accepted Islam and to make it unnecessary for government officials to intervene.
As one of the youngest muftis in the Russian Federation, Valgasov argued that in North Ossetia, most Muslims are themselves quite young and that those who work with them need to understand the particular problems of the new generation -- including its tendencies toward "maximalism" and viewing the world in "black and white" tones.
Often, he continued, some older Muslim leaders and especially those who rose through the ranks during Soviet times do not understand these problems of the young and therefore cannot react adequately to the situation.
Fortunately, Valgasov concluded, the percentage of young Muslims among the mullahs of the North Caucasus has risen quickly, and a natural generational change among Muslims means that there are now many "deputy heads of a number of Muslim spiritual directorates" elsewhere in the North Caucasus.
If the authorities in both the Russian state and the Muslim hierarchies listen to these young people, Valgasov implies, things will go well. If they don't, then the situation could easily get out of hand.
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(Paul Goble teaches at the EuroCollege of the University of Tartu in Estonia.)
