It's been a while, I know, but first I feel I should discuss some aspects of life here in the context of the Boston Marathon terrorist attack. I must say, hearing about who the suspects were was bizarrely ironic. As soon as the pictures of the Tsarnaev brothers were released, pretty much everyone was asking (whether they like to admit it or not), "Are they Muslim or White?"
As it turns out, they were both.
As a matter of fact, I sort of guessed that from the beginning, seeing the pictures, I thought to myself, "They actually look Chechen"- it not occurring to me that they could actually BE Chechen. What do Chechens have to do with Boston anyway?
Well, what do you know. I log into Facebook and see people who aren't me, posting articles about Chechnya.
The general discussion now, among Americans, is how much the Tsarnaev brothers actually had anything to do with the situation in Chechnya- which is apparently next to nothing.
Here though, the discussion is different. It is about how Americans are now going to crack down hard against the wrong kind of Caucasians. As far as it affects me, I've broken the news to Timur and his family about the near impossibility of his ever obtaining a visa.
In general, while in Russia, I avoid the subject of American tragedies. Last year, I made the mistake of talking about September 11th to the Vice-Governor of Chelyabinsk, and the first thing he asked was whether or not I knew the "truth" about the Twin Towers, that it was all pre-organized by the Bush administration!
It turns out that most people here believe in these kinds of "conspiracy theories." One university worker even went as far as to suggest that the mass shootings of this year were planned by the Obama administration in order to gain support for gun legislation. Even the most otherwise reasonably-minded people expressed that they believed the government or the CIA was behind every known terrorist attack or other tragedy that has taken place on American soil. I have come to not let this bother me so much, as I found out that the reason was that they expect the same kind of behavior from their OWN government. I also reassure them, that I of course do not believe everything I read or hear from our news sources. "Americans believe what they want to believe, or what is simplest for them to understand," I was told.
It is also not a good idea even to mention such terrorist attacks simply to mourn the victims. A response would be, that in Boston, three people died, but in Syria, such events are happening on a weekly basis, and the whole world doesn't make such a fuss... let alone the American-instigated drone strikes in northern Pakistan. Yes, 28 died in Sandy Hook, but comparable massacres have happened over the years in Nalchik and Vladikavkaz, to which the news media responds with simply attributing these attacks to "militants and bandits," without a months-long public psychoanalysis and solidified notoriety of the perpetrator.
My response? A tragedy is a tragedy, whether it happens to three or three thousand people- in the urban US or in the North Caucasus- civilian lives are lost. Of course, debate will continue as to what preventive measures should be taken... but as far as our reaction goes, to solidify the fame of the perpetrators- plastering their names and photographs everywhere, essentially immortalizing them- do we really think that, in a sick way, this isn't what they really wanted? That it wouldn't encourage other losers to do the same?
And yes, I realize that just now I have only contributed to the problem.
Another thing I feel I should mention is the local practice of Islam. Of course, now I am making the same mistake as the American news media, by discussing Islam right after mentioning terrorism, but its relevance to this region is worth telling about. The younger Chechen brother was known to have not really practiced his religion at all. This is also definitely true of some of the people I know here- although there really is no way to describe what is the "Adyghe practice of Islam." If I were to make a generalization, I would say the more a person talks about Islam, the less they actually adhere to it. There are some that are polar opposites. One of my friends, for example, to whom practicing Islam is very important, very rarely talks about religion or criticizes others from a religious standpoint. She dresses more or less conservatively (although doesn't ever wear hejab), maintains Islamic and Caucasian standards of family relations and respect for elders- but the more superficial (in my opinion) aspects, such as whether or not your hair is covered or what music you listen to- do not dictate her life. On the other hand, I've seen plenty an Adyghe or other Caucasian man, leaning upon their cars adorned with "ALLAH" pendants hanging from the mirrors, while greeting their friends with "salaam alaikum," while drinking a beer.
Still another person I know follows Islam to the most (as we would consider) the most fundamental, strict interpretation. Dressed in complete hejab, she dreams of becoming an Arabic teacher in a local madrassa. And then there are those who seem to be more or less "Muslim, by Adyghe/North Caucasian ethnicity, but we don't really know what we're supposed to do with that." (We're not supposed to have pork shashlik and drink wine?) In short, the locals in Adygeya practice their religion like Western Christians do. Все по разному. It varies. For the most part, it's something that is mainly tied to one's ethnicity. The Adyghe people have been Muslim for only a few centuries. Before that, they were Christian for a brief period, and before that, they were pagan. Many pagan traditions remain in Adyghe/Circassian culture, such as anything related to the Nart legends. Basically, this history could leave anyone religiously confused.
As it turns out, they were both.
As a matter of fact, I sort of guessed that from the beginning, seeing the pictures, I thought to myself, "They actually look Chechen"- it not occurring to me that they could actually BE Chechen. What do Chechens have to do with Boston anyway?
Well, what do you know. I log into Facebook and see people who aren't me, posting articles about Chechnya.
The general discussion now, among Americans, is how much the Tsarnaev brothers actually had anything to do with the situation in Chechnya- which is apparently next to nothing.
Here though, the discussion is different. It is about how Americans are now going to crack down hard against the wrong kind of Caucasians. As far as it affects me, I've broken the news to Timur and his family about the near impossibility of his ever obtaining a visa.
In general, while in Russia, I avoid the subject of American tragedies. Last year, I made the mistake of talking about September 11th to the Vice-Governor of Chelyabinsk, and the first thing he asked was whether or not I knew the "truth" about the Twin Towers, that it was all pre-organized by the Bush administration!
It turns out that most people here believe in these kinds of "conspiracy theories." One university worker even went as far as to suggest that the mass shootings of this year were planned by the Obama administration in order to gain support for gun legislation. Even the most otherwise reasonably-minded people expressed that they believed the government or the CIA was behind every known terrorist attack or other tragedy that has taken place on American soil. I have come to not let this bother me so much, as I found out that the reason was that they expect the same kind of behavior from their OWN government. I also reassure them, that I of course do not believe everything I read or hear from our news sources. "Americans believe what they want to believe, or what is simplest for them to understand," I was told.
It is also not a good idea even to mention such terrorist attacks simply to mourn the victims. A response would be, that in Boston, three people died, but in Syria, such events are happening on a weekly basis, and the whole world doesn't make such a fuss... let alone the American-instigated drone strikes in northern Pakistan. Yes, 28 died in Sandy Hook, but comparable massacres have happened over the years in Nalchik and Vladikavkaz, to which the news media responds with simply attributing these attacks to "militants and bandits," without a months-long public psychoanalysis and solidified notoriety of the perpetrator.
My response? A tragedy is a tragedy, whether it happens to three or three thousand people- in the urban US or in the North Caucasus- civilian lives are lost. Of course, debate will continue as to what preventive measures should be taken... but as far as our reaction goes, to solidify the fame of the perpetrators- plastering their names and photographs everywhere, essentially immortalizing them- do we really think that, in a sick way, this isn't what they really wanted? That it wouldn't encourage other losers to do the same?
And yes, I realize that just now I have only contributed to the problem.
Another thing I feel I should mention is the local practice of Islam. Of course, now I am making the same mistake as the American news media, by discussing Islam right after mentioning terrorism, but its relevance to this region is worth telling about. The younger Chechen brother was known to have not really practiced his religion at all. This is also definitely true of some of the people I know here- although there really is no way to describe what is the "Adyghe practice of Islam." If I were to make a generalization, I would say the more a person talks about Islam, the less they actually adhere to it. There are some that are polar opposites. One of my friends, for example, to whom practicing Islam is very important, very rarely talks about religion or criticizes others from a religious standpoint. She dresses more or less conservatively (although doesn't ever wear hejab), maintains Islamic and Caucasian standards of family relations and respect for elders- but the more superficial (in my opinion) aspects, such as whether or not your hair is covered or what music you listen to- do not dictate her life. On the other hand, I've seen plenty an Adyghe or other Caucasian man, leaning upon their cars adorned with "ALLAH" pendants hanging from the mirrors, while greeting their friends with "salaam alaikum," while drinking a beer.
Still another person I know follows Islam to the most (as we would consider) the most fundamental, strict interpretation. Dressed in complete hejab, she dreams of becoming an Arabic teacher in a local madrassa. And then there are those who seem to be more or less "Muslim, by Adyghe/North Caucasian ethnicity, but we don't really know what we're supposed to do with that." (We're not supposed to have pork shashlik and drink wine?) In short, the locals in Adygeya practice their religion like Western Christians do. Все по разному. It varies. For the most part, it's something that is mainly tied to one's ethnicity. The Adyghe people have been Muslim for only a few centuries. Before that, they were Christian for a brief period, and before that, they were pagan. Many pagan traditions remain in Adyghe/Circassian culture, such as anything related to the Nart legends. Basically, this history could leave anyone religiously confused.
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