Jihad in Ukraine?

Asharq Al-Awsat, London, March 3

A prominent Twitter account associated with al-Qaida recently shared a post claiming that the exiled Chechen leader Akhmed Zakayev, who served as prime minister of the unrecognized Chechen Republic during the first Chechen war, offered to sign a military cooperation agreement with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the post, Zakayev offered to send Chechen volunteers to join Ukrainian soldiers in fighting against the Russian invaders. Interestingly, there seems to be increasing chatter among jihadist circles about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with some voices posing the question of whether joining the Ukrainian forces constitutes a legitimate form of jihad. Does providing aid to non-Muslims – if such an act promotes Muslim interests – constitute a holy war? This, of course, is interesting, since Ukraine is a predominantly Christian country. According to several estimates, the number of Muslims residing in Ukraine ranges from 300,000 to 2 million, most of whom are of Crimean Tatar origin. And yet, several jihad groups seem to propose that the presence of a Muslim minority in Ukraine, no matter how small, suffices to justify participation in the fighting and protection against the Russian “crusader” enemy. For now, these just seem like empty threats. But if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that we should always be prepared for the worst. These groups, whether we like it or not, are doing something far beyond our imagination and drawing a link between Islamic holy war and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. And no matter how weak or questionable this link is, we already know how far and wide ideas can travel when they meet the ears of indoctrinated youth. –Meshary Al-Dhaidy (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)