Between Salafism and Eurasianism: Geidar Dzhemal and the Global Islamic Revolution in Russia

Geidar Dzhemal (1947-2016) was arguably the most well-known mouthpiece of radical Islam in the contemporary Russia media world: with his broad erudition in Western philosophy, Abrahamic theology and world history he easily upstaged most official representatives of Islam in the country. While his Islamic project borrowed heavily from Marxist thinking, Dzhemal’s non-conformist teaching and his personal charisma made him also famous among right-wing thinkers, who see him as the “Godfather” of Russian converts to Islam. However, Dzhemal defied common classifications, either political or religious; his discourse adapted to the changes in Russian politics from Yeltsin to Putin, which allowed him to appeal to a broad range of audiences. We argue that his popularity can be explained by the fact that with his promotion of a global anti-Western revolution under the Islamic banner, Dzhemal was still embedded in mainstream discourses on Russia’s national interests.