Moscow: Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 252 p.

The development of theoretical problems of the social development of Asian states, as well as the analysis of the multifaceted processes of their socio-political life, are closely related to the research of those profound shifts that occur and are qualitatively transformed in the ideological and religious spheres of activity in these countries. The whole course of the historical development of the Asian region over the past 50 years shows that this set of systemically ordered views, expressing the interests of various social groups, on the basis of which the relations of people and their communities to social reality are understood and evaluated, has a significant impact not only on the political, but also on the economic development of many Asian countries. Therefore, it is not surprising that much attention is being paid to the ongoing transformation of an ideology based on Islam and taking a wide variety of forms-from moderate currents to orthodox radicalism and terrorism. In this regard, the publication of O. P. Chekrizova's monograph on Islamic radicalism and extremism in Pakistan is not only very relevant and timely, but also completely legitimate.

The steady growth of the Islamic factor as a kind of confessional binding constant manifested itself long before the formation of Pakistan in 1947 and formed the basis for the division of colonial India into India proper and Pakistan on religious grounds. But this trend was most clearly marked after the military coup and General Zia-ul-Haq's regime came to power in Pakistan in 1977 (p.10-21): Islamization affected not only the socio-political life of the country, but also its economy. As the author of the reviewed monograph rightly notes, in the conditions of stagnation in the national economy of the country and acute political crisis, this was a direct reaction of the conservative forces of Pakistani society to the attempts of accelerated (but not always justified) modernization of the country's economy with the introduction of some elements of the socialist economic system, which was carried out by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1972-1977 (p. 11)..

The Zia-ul-Haq regime relied on two main forces that gradually transformed into the leading power structures of Pakistani society-the army and Muslim theologians. After the military coup in 1977, military salaries were significantly increased, their influence in state management structures gradually increased; at the same time, there was an increase in military expenditures in the state budget of the country, including an increase in the size of military pensions.

Muslim theologians (ulama) were able to significantly improve their social and financial situation in Pakistani society, and their appointment to responsible judicial posts became ordinary. It is not surprising that "representatives of right-wing religious and communal parties supported the new regime and joined the government" (p. 12). It is also quite understandable (given that 97% of the population of Pakistan is Muslim) that the policy of Islamization of Pakistani society, proclaimed as a state ideology, was supported by many social groups.

Sergey KAMENEV-Candidate of Economic Sciences, Leading Researcher, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Unfortunately, the author paid less attention to such important factors of Islamization, in my opinion, as the desire of the ruling regime to get as close as possible to the Muslim oil-producing countries at that time after the currency, financial and energy crisis that broke out in 1973, which led to a significant increase in oil prices. Taking into account the growing import of oil, which is vital for the progressive development of the Pakistani economy, a kind of "Islam factor" allowed the country to ensure the import of this raw material from Arab countries on relatively favorable terms. At that time, there was a significant increase in the migration of Pakistanis to work in Muslim oil-producing states, which also brought Pakistan closer to them. In addition, Zia-ul-Haq skillfully used the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, constantly exaggerating the slogans "Islam is in danger" and " infidels are already at the borders of the Islamic world." In this regard, his requests (and at times demands) for significant assistance to fight the Soviet troops were not ignored, and economic assistance to Pakistan from Western countries (primarily from the United States), as well as modern weapons, came to the country on a regular basis.

Following the chronological principle of studying the development of Islamic radicalism and extremism, the author rightly notes a certain weakening of the influence of Islam on the socio-political development of Pakistani society in the 1990s, as well as less attention to the further Islamization of the country's economy. To some extent, this was due to the turbulent domestic political life - a sharp confrontation between the two leading political forces: The Pakistan People's Party led by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (pp. 21-28). The influence of religious parties had weakened somewhat by that time, as they had lost support at the highest level after the death of Zia-ul-Haq.

This period, up to the beginning of the XXI century, was characterized, as O. P. Chekrizova emphasizes, by the "smooth" development of Islamic radicalism against the background of the acute internal political struggle of the above-mentioned parties, while the economic situation in the country worsened due to the country's leadership's inattention to the situation in the national economy of Pakistan (pp. 22-35). Pakistan's support for Islamist forces at that time was mainly due to the desire of the ruling circles to influence the situation in neighboring Afghanistan.

The author analyzed in detail (after the military coup in 1999) the actions of Islamists in the first decade of this century, taking into account some changes in the domestic and foreign policy course, as well as a greater attention of the military leadership to the operation of market mechanisms in the country's economy, while gradually moving away from the principles of Islamic economics (pp. 36-52). while banning the activities of a number of extremist Islamist organizations, the military leadership was loyal to moderate Islamism. As a result, in the 2002 general elections, the United Action Front (which included six religious and political parties) came in third place in terms of the number of seats in the lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan.

The paper clearly states that it was General Pervez Musharraf who, after being sworn in as President of Pakistan in 2002 and the abolition of military rule, first clearly formulated the idea that extremism and terrorism are the main threat to Pakistan's national security (p.41). The actions of radical Islamists to take hostages at the Red Mosque in Islamabad in 2007 and the army assault to free them, which led to the death of dozens of people, confirmed the opinion expressed in the reviewed work that it is necessary to carefully study both directly Islamic radicalism and the consequences of its impact on various social strata of society, especially on young people (pp. 46-47).

O. P. Chekrizova's separate analysis of the activities of Sunni and Shiite religious organizations (Chapter II), in my opinion, is quite justified, given the different directions of religion and the significant differences in their activities within the two mentioned trends in Islam. The main Sunni Islamic organizations are grouped and analyzed here: Jamaat-i-Islami and its affiliated organizations, Jamaat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (the Taliban), and Ahl-e Hadith (the Pakistani Salafis)., Jamaat-i Ulama Pakistan and radical organizations of the Barelvi school.

Of equal interest is O. P. Chekrizova's study of Shia (Jafar) organizations (pp. 140-148), such as Tehrik-i Jafariya Pakistan and the Sinah-i Muhammad Pakistan militant group, which is closely associated with it

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Pakistan Warriors of the Prophet), as well as the radical youth organization Imamia Students Organization.

Considering the activities of these and a number of other Sunni and Shiite organizations, the author concludes that the contradictions between Sunnis and Shiites will continue to determine (along with other factors) the internal political course of the ruling circles of Pakistan aimed at smoothing out such contradictions and preventing terrorist attacks in major cities of Pakistan, primarily in Karachi and other cities. Quetta (p. 149).

The intensification of the activities of terrorist organizations in Pakistan after the parliamentary elections in 2008 ("The Taliban Movement of Pakistan", "Lashkar - e-toiba", "Jaish-e Muhammad", etc.) and the strengthening of the fight against them by federal law enforcement agencies are analyzed in Chapter III. Although it would be logical, following the chronological principle of studying Islamic radicalism proposed by O. P. Chekrizova herself, to place the section "Islamic radicalism during the presidency of A. A. Zardari (2008-2013)" in Chapter I, immediately after the 3rd section, which analyzes the activities of Islamist organizations during the presidency of Pervez Musharraf (1999-2008).

The author confirms the previously expressed point of view of the Russian orientalist O. V. Pleshov that the period of President Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's rule can be described as "a combination of radical forces, embodied in the processes of so-called creeping Talibanization" (p. 151). The responsibility for carrying out numerous terrorist acts in the country was assumed by the "Taliban Movement of Pakistan". But if at the beginning of the XXI century the terrorist activity of this extremist organization was limited to territories in the north-west of Pakistan (mainly in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), then in the second decade of this century the wave of violence reached almost all large and medium-sized cities of the country.

O. P. Chekrizova emphasizes that in addition to the increase in direct terrorist activity, the "Talibanization" was accompanied by a radical Islamization of public life in the areas controlled by the militants. It came to direct threats-demands for the closure of women's schools, Internet cafes, video and audio stores; moreover, ancient cultural monuments of non-Muslim civilizations were destroyed (in the Swat Valley in 2007, the Taliban blew up several unique Buddha statues) (pp. 152-156).

The well-known terrorist organization Al-Qaeda also showed considerable activity in Pakistan, primarily in the territory of the federal administration tribes, where militant training bases were concentrated (mainly in North Waziristan). However, the main task of Al-Qaeda was still not to actively fight, but to provide ideological support for the Pakistani Taliban. It is noteworthy that this organization, which was outlawed (banned in Pakistan on March 17, 2003), sought in its propaganda to outlaw the Pakistani state itself, to overthrow the fundamental postulate of the creation of Pakistan as a "Muslim state" (pp. 156-157).

An analysis of the political situation in each of the seven tribal agencies at the beginning of this century, with the publication of detailed maps (pp. 169-199), can rightly be considered a great merit of the author; from my point of view, the use of English-language maps for this purpose does not in any way detract from the dignity of the study.

Based on factual material, the author demonstrates how the power of radical religious groups and organizations in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and especially in the tribal belt, gradually weakened. If at first the popularity of the Taliban among the population of this region could be explained by strict adherence to the laws of morality and law (which favorably distinguished them from corrupt officials), then over time their positions began to weaken noticeably - for many reasons, including as a result of an excessively firm, often bordering on savage cruelty, attitude to supposedly " un-Islamic behavior".

However, the main factor in the decline in the popularity of the Taliban, as the author emphasizes, was their constant, often disorderly actions aimed at undermining the clan-tribal system in this part of Pakistan. At the same time, the standard method of dealing with unwanted tribal elders (who traditionally acted as intermediaries between the federal government and local residents) was their murder. It is not surprising that the harshness (sometimes brutality) of the actions of Islamic radicals led to an increase in the resistance of the local population, including an increase in the role of tribal militias (lashkars), which operated in conjunction with federal troops stationed in the tribal belt.

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The central government, as O. P. Chekrizova points out in section 3 of Chapter III, was fully aware of the danger of the spread of Islamic radicalism, but fought it with a pinpoint method - in key areas in the political agencies of South Waziristan, Bajaur, Swat district, Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (pp. 206-229). Moreover, the erroneous method of the ruling circles of the country to negotiate directly with the militants, and not with the tribal leaders, caused serious damage to tribal structures, since it actually legitimized the supremacy of the militants and reduced the effectiveness of the fight against them.

In response to the increased frequency of terrorist attacks by radical Islamic organizations, the federal authorities launched a large-scale military operation Zarb-e Azb (Striking Strike)in June 2014 in the northwestern part of Pakistan, primarily in North Waziristan (pp. 222-224). These military actions have been noticeably intensified since the horrific shooting of students at a military college in Peshawar in December 2014, when 134 teenagers and 9 teachers were killed.

As the author emphasizes, "participation in the global war on terrorism cost the Pakistani state at the beginning of the XXI century. very expensive. According to a secret report submitted by the security services to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in March 2013, 49,000 people were killed in military operations between 2001 and 2013, with almost half (24,000) in the period up to 2008, and another 25,000 in the next five years. In the course of military operations in 2008-2013 alone, the Pakistani army lost about 15.5 thousand people, while the losses of militants were much lower - a little more than 3 thousand people " (p. 223). By the way, the losses of the Pakistani economy from terrorist attacks, according to the official data of the "Review of the Economy of Pakistan in 2015/2016", amounted to only $ 14.8 billion from June 2014 to June 2016.

The roughness that sometimes occurs in the text of the monograph does not reduce the high assessment of the reviewed work and the great importance of the study of Islamic radicalism in Pakistan, terrorist actions of militants in this country, which primarily affects its civilian population. The significance of the analysis of this serious problem is also determined by the fact that Islamic radicalism and extremism are very active right on the borders of Russia.

The monograph by O. P. Chekrizova is a serious contribution of a young author, a graduate of MGIMO (U) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, and now an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Historical Sciences, to Russian Oriental studies. It may be of interest to specialists in Islam and students of Oriental studies, as well as to a wide range of readers interested in the problems of the East.

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