A. B. PODTSEROB. ISLAM IN THE INTERNAL AND FOREIGN POLICY OF THE MAGHREB COUNTRIES, MOSCOW: Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of the Middle East, 2009, 212 p.

The book by the famous Russian orientalist and diplomat A. B. Podtserob, who has worked in North Africa for many years, is a comprehensive study of the role of Islam in the socio-political and socio-economic life of the Maghreb countries and in their foreign policy. The author clearly traces the religious component of public thought in the countries of the region, the main ideological trends of modern political Islam, the influence of religion on the formation of mass consciousness, the activities of extremist Islamic groups both inside and outside the Maghreb countries, and analyzes the rapidly changing situation in the North African diasporas of Western Europe.

The work consists of four chapters, a preface, introduction, conclusion, and bibliographic notes.

In the preface to the monograph, the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Middle East, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, A. A. Abramovich, is quoted as saying. Saltanov, in particular, emphasizes that modern Islamism is generated by the combined impact of economic, social, political, ideological, and emotional factors. As for the Islamic factor itself, its effect goes far beyond individual countries and the entire Arab-Islamic region. Currently, millions of Muslims live in Europe and America, many of them came here as immigrants, while others were born here in the second and third generations. It is worth adding that the criminal actions of a number of terrorist groups, hiding behind "Islamic" slogans, are of a cross-border nature. At the same time, A. Saltanov notes that the monograph shows how the Muslim religion is used to its advantage by both the "ruling classes" and the opposition, including various extremist groups.

In the introduction, A. B. Podtserob, outlining the scope of his current research, states that in recent decades Islam has had an increasingly noticeable impact on public life, domestic and foreign policy, the formation of ideological views in the countries of the Arab-Muslim region and has become one of the central problems of the modern world. The real and negative manifestation of this phenomenon was the growth of fundamentalism and religious extremism, which is explained by the utopian idea that only the most radical forms of extremism are considered.

a return to the" religious roots " and the original principles of Islam will lead to the construction of an ideal society.

However, as the author emphasizes, it would be wrong to reduce modern Islam only to religious extremism, which has generated a powerful wave of Islamophobia in Western countries. Other postulates of Islam make it possible to speak of it as a teaching of peace, tolerance, and love for one's neighbor. This inconsistency of the Qur'an "gives different social strata and political forces the opportunity to find in Islam what they want to find there, what meets their interests" (p. 9). At the same time, the Sub-Center notes that not all Muslims are supporters of religious revival. The prevailing views are reformist ones, according to which religious dogmas should be adapted to the requirements of modernity. Secularism has become an extreme manifestation of these views. Along with it, there are also traditionalist views, whose followers oppose the introduction of any innovations into the Islamic religion.

In chapter I, "The causes of the spread of Islamism," the author quite rightly, in my opinion, names the deterioration of the economic situation in the Maghreb countries as a whole and the low rate of modernization of societies during the years of independent development as the primary reasons for the activation of Islamist movements. At the same time, he emphasizes that "the pace of modernization was not high enough. It revealed the inability of Maghreb societies (with the possible exception of Tunisian ones) to adapt to the requirements of the post-industrial stage of development, to the next round of scientific and technological progress, to ensure a breakthrough in the technological sphere and, on this basis, to achieve the competitiveness of their products, which is the most important factor for survival in a globalizing world" (p.16).

Although the economic situation in the 1970s and 1880s worsened in all the countries of the Maghreb, this is especially true in Algeria and Mauritania. The provision on the special place of Tunisia seems to be fair. It coincides with the reviewer's conclusion made a little earlier in his monograph "North Africa: half a century of independent development (socio-economic aspects)" (Moscow, 2008). There, on page 47, in particular, it says: "...being an average North African country in terms of population and production, Tunisia has not only taken a leading position in terms of economic development, in terms of many social indicators, in terms of introducing the most modern models of socio-political life into public consciousness and reality by the turn of the century in North Africa, but also throughout the Arab world."

Another fundamentally important reason for the spread of Islamist sentiment in the Maghreb countries was domestic political factors. The author notes in this regard: "There is a growing discontent with the inability of the authorities to solve the problems facing the Maghreb countries, to cope with corruption and the imposition of" unity of mind" on society, the use of authoritarian methods of government, and the bet on repression " (p.29).

Later in this chapter, the author analyzes in detail the impact of domestic political factors on the spread of Islamist sentiment in relation to each of the Maghreb countries. A peculiar situation has developed in Morocco, where, according to the Russian researcher M. S. Sergeev, Islamization" from below "was superimposed on Islamization"from above".

A. B. Podtserob's long-term practical work in the countries of North Africa and the experience gained as a result of it allowed him to summarize the collected data on the impact of external factors on the spread of Islamism in the region. At the same time, he highlights, first of all, the negative reaction of the general population to Westernization, which is rapidly being introduced not only in the sphere of culture and everyday life, but also in political life. In particular, he writes: "The invasion of the Western way of life, the suppression of identity, culture, and traditions turn Islam into a refuge of national feeling, the association of religion with patriotism increases, and national consciousness is concentrated in it" (p.25).

The collapse of the world system of socialism and the bankruptcy of the communist ideology on which it was based, as well as the collapse of socialist experiments in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, played a role in the spread of Islamist sentiments.

Globalization is also one of the external factors influencing the growth of Islamism in the Maghreb. It inevitably requires measures to improve the competitiveness of production, constantly introduce the latest technologies, eliminate existing protectionist and customs barriers, and create conditions for the free movement of capital, people, and ideas. Advocates of all forms of modernization and globalization

available in the Maghreb countries. These are mainly specialists who have received technical education abroad and think in modern technical and economic categories. However, local adherents of xenophobia, as the author notes, see them as "agents of globalization", moreover, as apostates, the fight against which is the duty of Muslims. Based on an analysis of the extensive material presented in this chapter, the author comes to the conclusion that of all the Maghreb countries, the ideological and psychological roots of Islamism are undermined only in Tunisia. But even here, the situation may change for the worse in the event of an economic crisis.

Chapter II, "The Islamic Component of Public Thought in the Maghreb Countries,"is devoted to purely ideological problems. The author proceeds from the fact that the analysis of religious and political programs that exist here is complicated by the fact that the movements that speak under Islamic slogans unite various social forces, the ideas put forward by them are eclectic, and it is not always possible to immediately classify these movements and determine the interests of which strata they represent. Their supporters and followers are looking for their own answers to the emerging challenges of our time. In many cases, these responses are not uniform, and in others they even contradict each other, causing confusion in the minds of Muslims.

The author examines in detail various religious and political trends that exist in the Maghreb at the present time, their origins, social environments, and defined goals. These trends include reformist, secularist, renaissance, traditionalist, and some others. Based on the analysis and comparison of them with each other in various parameters, he comes to the conclusion that at present, reformist Islam prevails in the Maghreb, which is held by the majority of the political and intellectual elite, a significant part of the population of the region (p.64).

In chapter III, "The Islamic factor in the internal politics of the Maghreb countries", the author emphasizes that this role of the Islamic factor has constantly changed over the course of history, becoming more or less important. During the period of independent development, it depended and still depends today on which representatives of the above-mentioned religious and political movements hold state power. Adherents of reformist and secularist trends can have a real impact on the formation of the internal political course of the countries of the region. But, as the author notes, "attempts to put such ideas into practice are met with misunderstanding, and sometimes resistance, by that part of the population that has remained faithful to traditional foundations and is suspicious of any innovations, whether it is a multi-party system, a parliamentary system, or birth control" (p.67).

More than others, the Tunisian leadership went in the direction of limiting the influence of Islam in the period after achieving state independence, although Tunisia did not become a completely secular state. The author examines in detail the activities of the first President of the country, H. Bourguiba, to implement the policy of secularization that was carried out before 1987, and actions to counteract it. Although the situation has changed since 1987, at the same time fundamental changes in the public consciousness have taken place in the period from 1957 to 1987.

The dynamics of changes in the place of the Islamic factor in domestic politics can also be traced in other countries of the region, in particular on the example of integrist movements. The integrist movement gained its greatest momentum in Algeria, where the first Islamist groups emerged in the 1960s. The economic collapse of the late 1980s marked the end of the country's socialist orientation and political system. A political and ideological vacuum was created, which was quickly filled by Islamists. The Islamic Salvation Front has come to the fore in the political life of the ANDR. The author traces in detail the stages of the civil war that broke out in the country after that and the role of various Islamist groups that participated in it. He makes a very important conclusion based on the analysis: "The greatest success in the fight against Islamism can be achieved where this problem is solved comprehensively, where targeted measures of an economic, social, political and ideological nature are carried out along with repression."

In general, Islam in the Maghreb is the most important part of the public consciousness of both the ordinary citizen and the ruling circles. Therefore, it will continue to be a real factor in the political struggle in the countries of the region in the future.

Chapter IV, "The Islamic factor in the foreign Policy of the Maghreb countries" examines the impact of religion on the formation of foreign policy courses in the region. Especially from-

This impact is clearly visible in Libya's foreign policy and its dynamics. In the first period after 1969, Libyans clearly overestimated the role of Islam, especially in inter-Arab, inter-African and inter-Asian relations. Later, after the country's leadership rejected "revolutionary romanticism", its ideas about religious solidarity changed and were minimized. The leader of the Libyan revolution, Muammar Gaddafi, has called on Islamic separatists from the Philippines to Chechnya to stop fighting and conclude peace agreements with the central governments of their countries.

The author analyzes the attitude of the Maghreb countries to various international problems in which the Islamic factor occupies a certain place and which in one way or another affect their national interests. Fundamentally important among these problems is the Middle East, which has not been intelligently resolved for more than six decades. The attitude of the Maghreb countries to this problem is very different, and the most radical position was that of Libya. The attitude of the Maghreb countries to the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-1988 and to the situation in modern Iraq was very different.

The author notes that in the African direction, the most noticeable impact of the Islamic factor was traced in the policy of Libya, in particular in the Chadian conflict. Further, he analyzes the positions of the countries of the region in the Asian direction, during the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the aggression of Western powers against Yugoslavia, on some other issues, and in this regard, he says: "It was the fear of the United States, the fear that their next target will be Libya after Iraq, that forced Tripoli to abandon anti-Americanism in foreign policy, stop supporting extremist Islamic organizations such as the Moro National Liberation Front, remove the slogan of the liberation of Palestine and the destruction of Israel, and distance yourself from Iraq" (p. 118).

This statement is very important as an objective expert assessment in the disputes between political scientists who soberly assessed the pros and cons of the invasion of Iraq by US and British troops in 2003, to which the reviewer refers himself, and those "frenzied" not so much specialists as propagandists of past times, who saw only disadvantages in this invasion and actually acted as supporters of Saddam Hussein's criminal policies. (The reviewer's position on this issue was presented at some conferences and round tables and was published.)

In this part of the chapter, the author examines a whole range of problems related to Maghreb migration to Europe and the role of the Islamic factor in this acute socio-economic process. In recent years, it has been intensively studied from a variety of perspectives by economists, sociologists, demographers and other specialists, as it affects the vital interests of millions of Maghrebians and people from other Afro-Asian countries. The author studies this process from the point of view of the role of the Islamic factor in it. He states: "Neither the Algerians and Moroccans, nor the Saudis, nor the Muslim Brotherhood have yet managed to gain a predominant influence on Muslim communities in Europe, and the question of which Islam - reformist or integrist - oriented-will become predominant among European Muslims remains open at the moment" (p. 121).

The author's assessments of the place of religion in Soviet - and Russian-Maghreb relations and their dynamics, including the beginning of the XXI century, as well as the establishment of an intercivilizational dialogue are very important.

A significant part of the chapter is devoted to the struggle of the Maghreb countries against terrorist organizations and groups operating under the slogans of Islamism, in particular against Al-Qaeda, its branches and affiliates. One of them is Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (OKIM), which joined Osama bin Laden's terrorist network in September 2006.

The author's general conclusions drawn on the basis of a thorough analysis are, in my opinion, fair and reasonable. He believes that the influence of Islam on the formation of ideological concepts, on the internal and external policies of the Maghreb countries will most likely persist for a long time. The whole question is: what kind of Islam? This will depend primarily on the solution or non-solution of socio-economic problems in each of the Maghreb countries.

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