Giorgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
For several days the main topic of the Georgian media has been the fate of two young men from the Pankisi Gorge, who ran away two weeks ago to join the terrorist group Islamic State. 18-year-old Muslim Kushtanashvili and 16-year-old Ramzan Bagakashvili left without asking their parents, and Ramzan somehow managed to get an identity card and fly away together with his brother to Turkey. From there they travelled to Syria, then to Iraq.
The Georgian Interior Ministry is investigating how the student was able to obtain the electronic identity that allowed him to cross the border and why the border policeman failed to recognize a minor. According to Vestnik Kavkaza, the guard claimed during questioning that Ramzan "looked like an adult." This explanation, of course, cannot satisfy the parents of the young people.
The Georgian parliament is preparing to adopt amendments to the Criminal Code to toughen punishment for the recruitment of mercenaries and participation in illegal armed formations on the territory of other countries, as the exodus of young people to IS is becoming larger: we are talking about hundreds of Georgian citizens who are fighting under the Islamic State banner.
An expert on Caucasus issues, Mamuka Areshidze, told Vestnik Kavkaza that IS is recruiting fighters from Kvemo Kartli (Borchali) and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. But Borchali and Adjara are the most prosperous regions of Georgia, where youth unemployment is lower than in other parts of the country. Muslim and Ramzan also come from wealthy families. What makes young people from Georgia fight in Iraq?According to Areshidze and other experts, the main reason is an incorrect state approach to Islam as one of the traditional religions of Georgia: "Fighting radical movements can only be based on traditional Islam, only it can overcome this evil," the expert said.The head of the Administration of Muslims of Ajara, Tariel Nakaidze, said that the extremists would never have been able to lure the ignorant young people to under its banner if Georgia opened schools to teach children and young people traditional Islam.An important factor is Tarhan Batirashvili, who turned into a symbolic figure: born in a gorge, the former member of the Georgian army went to Syria and became one of the most powerful IS warlords. His example inspires young people.
An expert on Caucasus issues, Mamuka Areshidze, told Vestnik Kavkaza that IS is recruiting fighters from Kvemo Kartli (Borchali) and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. But Borchali and Adjara are the most prosperous regions of Georgia, where youth unemployment is lower than in other parts of the country. Muslim and Ramzan also come from wealthy families. What makes young people from Georgia fight in Iraq?
According to Areshidze and other experts, the main reason is an incorrect state approach to Islam as one of the traditional religions of Georgia: "Fighting radical movements can only be based on traditional Islam, only it can overcome this evil," the expert said.
The head of the Administration of Muslims of Ajara, Tariel Nakaidze, said that the extremists would never have been able to lure the ignorant young people to under its banner if Georgia opened schools to teach children and young people traditional Islam.
An important factor is Tarhan Batirashvili, who turned into a symbolic figure: born in a gorge, the former member of the Georgian army went to Syria and became one of the most powerful IS warlords. His example inspires young people.
