Islam is the Kremlin's other pillar against the West

The city of Kazan, the capital of the semi-autonomous Republic of Tatarstan in southwest Russia, is a symbol of the warm relations between Christians and Muslims in the world’s largest country by land mass. 

And it is there on the banks of the Volga River that the Russian government has just staged a major rapprochement with the Islamic world.

The onion domes of the city’s Orthodox cathedral and the minarets of its great mosque coexist peacefully. And the centuries-old Kazan Kremlin stands as a citadel in which the buildings of political and religious power are united. 

It is a unique situation in Russia.

This region, some 700 kilometers east of Moscow, adopted the Quran 1,100 years ago.

And according to Russian President Vladimir Putin this "has had a significant impact on the formation of our homeland as a multi-faith state".  

He said so in a message sent to the "Russia-Islamic World" forum, which took place earlier this month in Kazan. 

Some 1,100 religious figures from 76 Russian regions and five Muslim countries were in attendance. 

No Muslim country has placed sanction on Moscow

There are 15-20 million Muslims living in the Russian Federation. And in a country that’s been internationally isolated by the West because of its "special military operation" in Ukraine, Putin did not fail to highlight his rapprochement with the Islamic world.

He emphasized that no Muslim country has placed sanctions on Moscow.

"Together, we oppose the use of blackmail, discriminatory measures and political and economic diktat in international relations," Putin said. 

He also praised the "firmness, courage and selflessness" of Russia’s Muslim soldiers who are currently fighting in Ukraine.

During the Kazan forum, local authorities and Muslim representatives, one after the other, defended the narrative of the Russian authorities.

“The West is trying to impose its values”

"These are difficult times. We must unite around the head of our state," said Rustam Minnikhanov, president of the Republic of Tatarstan.

He fiercely attacked the West. 

"The West is trying to impose its values," he stormed. 

This is a theme Putin has been repeating the past several years. He has highlighted the successful integration of Muslims in Russia to show that, in his fight against the West and its alleged decline in values, he has Islam on his side. 

Russian Muslims are a precious reserve of electoral votes for the Putin regime, playing a key role in its defense of conservative values.

The “spiritual renaissance” of Russia

Shaykh al-Islām Talgat Tadzhuddin, a mufti who used to head the Central Muslim Spiritual Directorate of Russia, had even harsher words than the official ones during the Kazan forum. 

He said Russia was praying for "our mobilized soldiers" in Ukraine and then claimed that the Kyiv government "is organizing a return to Nazism and carrying out genocide, with the help of the West, by orchestrating the advance of NATO". 

The Muslim faith leader then thanked Putin for having allowed the "spiritual renaissance", "the confrontation between truth and falsehood" and "the unity of Russia" in the face of "a Europe that is losing its bearings". 

His words were warmly applauded. 

“The wall of silence”

"In appearance, the Islamic community is behind the president. But the wall of silence is such that any opponent of the war, Orthodox or Muslim, can no longer freely express themselves," warned a Moscow-based Western European observer of Russian religious affairs.

"You also have to read between the lines," he said.

But during the Kazan forum, the reputedly pragmatic mufti gave a more moderate speech. 

Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, praised the "multi-faith and tolerant state" built by the Kremlin.

But he carefully avoided talking about the crisis in Ukraine, confining himself to concrete proposals such as building new mosques in the country, strengthening international ties with the Islamic world, creating "a major economic market", etc.

A useful political-religious relay for the Kremlin

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is currently in the Middle East visiting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, will move to the more practical application of the rhetoric.

"The major project is to strengthen economic ties between Russia and the Islamic world," said Alexey Malashenko, an expert at IMEMO, a renowned thinktank in Moscow. 

"But the Muslim world will never be a complete alternative for replacing the West," he warned.

In the meantime, it is a useful political-religious relay for the Kremlin.