The Imperial Paradox : Islamic Eurasianism in Contemporary Russia
Journal: UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam)
Year: 2019

This chapter discusses the appeal of (Neo-)Eurasianism 1 among Muslim elites in Russia.Muslim leaders-official Muftis and private Islamic intellectualsemploy elements of Eurasianism as an instrument for promoting their interests, and tailor Islam and its history in Russia to fit the overall ideology.The inherent paradox here is that Eurasianism is commonly described as an "ideology of empire" 2 that centers on ethnic Russians and on Orthodox Christianity; Muslims are not usually presented as the