Theologians accuse Chechen Sufis of attempting to sow discord among Muslims

A fatwa, adopted on the outcome of the theological conference in Grozny, recognizes only followers of the Sufi tariqat the true Muslims, and it is directed to a split among Muslims of Russia. This was stated by theologians and scientists engaged in Islamic studies.

On August 25-27, Grozny hosted the Islamic Conference on the topic "The followers of the Sunnah: who are they?"

On September 2, the fatwa, adopted at the conference in Grozny, was officially published. According to the authors of the fatwa, true Muslims are only those who in theology support the school of Kalam (the Ash'arites and the Maturidites), adhere to one of the four madhhabs, and follow "the path of moral self-improvement, pointed out by the great teachers, primarily, Sufi imams."

The fatwa claims that the rest of the Muslims are misguided. According to the fatwa, the number of those "misguided modern sects" includes Wahhabis, who are also "called 'Salafis', since they falsely identify themselves as the righteous predecessors (Salafis)."

In addition to the publication of the fatwa, the participants of the conference have also disseminated an appeal to Vladimir Putin, the Russian Government and the Federal Assembly.

The appeal contains a call to ban Salafism and recognize criticism of traditional Islam as extremist activities.

The hasty adoption of resolutions on the basis of proposals voiced by the fatwa's authors may divide Sunni Muslims of Russia. This fear was voiced by Ildar Alyautdinov, the chief of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) for Moscow.

"We cannot exclude a part of the Muslims, who retreated from genuine religious principles by lack of comprehension," Ildar Alyautdinov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The disagreement with the outcome of the conference was also expressed by Ali Karadagi, a well-known Islamic scholar, the general secretary of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS).

Ali Karadagi also believes that the conference was "designed to exacerbate controversies within the Muslim community." This was noted by the Ali Karadagi's statement published on the website of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.