Mufti Mezhiev: anti-Semitic speech and attempts to justify himself

The Mufti of Chechnya, Salah Mezhiev, called Jews "enemies of Allah," which provoked sharp criticism and accusations of anti-Semitism from Jewish organizations and the public. Attempts to justify and edit publications in the official Chechen newspaper failed to ease tensions and were deemed unfounded by experts.

What Mufti Mezhiyev stated

In October 2025, the Mufti of Chechnya Salah Mezhiyev, in a public speech during the recording of the latest episode of the talk show "Chechen History. War and Peace" on the Grozny State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, called Jews enemies of Allah, claiming that the source of their ideas is Satanism* ¹.

The mufti's words on this were published on October 25 The state-run Chechen news agency Grozny-Inform. Many Russian media outlets quoted Mezhiyev's words, citing the Chechen news agency's website.

"There's no need to be surprised that such people exist. The enemies of Allah—the Jews and the movements they spawned, such as atheism—have existed for ages. And it doesn't matter where this happens—in the Arab world or in Europe—there are always pseudo-Orientalists spreading lies." "If you listen to the topics they raise and the questions they ask, it becomes clear: the source of their ideas is Satanism*," the news aggregator "BezFormata" quoted Salakh Mezhiyev as saying. ².

The reaction of the Jewish community

On October 30, 2025, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, called Mezhiyev's words offensive to the entire Jewish people and the Jewish faith. They are directed "against everything that all of Russia has been building for many years," he wrote on his official Telegram channel. ³.

"The recent speech by the Chechen mufti, Mr. Salah-Khadzhi Mezhiev, in which he declares my people "enemies of Allah" and accuses them of spreading atheism, left an extremely unpleasant impression (...) Mr. Mezhiev's words clearly run counter to the officially stated position of the Muslim community, whose leaders consistently advocate for interfaith peace and mutual respect among representatives of traditional religions," the rabbi wrote, recalling that "Jews even came out to defend the homes of Chechens when the authorities evicted them during the years of Stalin's repressions," he emphasized.

Lazar called on leading Islamic figures in Russia to distance themselves "from Mezhiev's anti-Semitic statements" and reaffirm "the Russian Muslim community's commitment to peace and solidarity among believers."

Disappearance of Part of the Text

Within hours of Berl Lazar's publication, the post on the website of the Chechen news agency Grozny-Inform was edited.

The very statements by Mezhiyev that the journalists quoted have disappeared from the text: "The enemies of Allah have long existed—the Jews and the movements they spawned, such as atheism," as well as the assertion that "the source of Jewish ideas is Satanism*."

The original version of the publication has been preserved on the BezFormata website and as a saved copy of the Grozny-Inform page in the web archive.

Lost in Translation

Mufti of Chechnya Salah-Hadzhi Mezhiev, in response to criticism from Berl Lazar, stated that his words about the "enemies of Allah" were incorrectly translated from the Chechen language and published online by "Ukrainian Satanists."* This statement was published on the Telegram channel of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic. According to the mufti, on October 20, a program aired in Chechen that was "aimed against atheists, not just atheists, but those filthy atheists who spread evil." The program, the mufti asserted, discussed the enemies of all humanity. Among these, he included "evil united under one flag—the West." Mezhiev also explained that he was only talking about "Zionists who are committing genocide" and reproached the rabbi for "closely following" the speeches of opponents of the Chechen authorities.

In his opinion, if Lazar "relies on their translation and then makes a statement, then that's his big problem. In that case, we should ask those in the know, and especially us, what we meant by this text and what we were talking about."

FEOR did not accept the explanation

Borukh Gorin, head of the public relations department of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, stated that Mezhiev's explanations were not accepted. "We didn't hear any explanation. Instead, it was said that the Satanists made it all up. "We certainly don't accept this," he stated.

He emphasized that "this translation was published on the website of the Chechen state news agency Grozny-Inform and disappeared from there, along with the video of the aforementioned talk show, only after the media published the statement by Russia's chief rabbi."

In Gorin's opinion, a simple apology in such a situation would have been more convincing than citing an allegedly incorrect translation. "Especially since Mr. Mezhiev still hasn't provided an exact translation of his words about the Jews," added Borukh Gorin. ⁵.

Tumso** criticized Mezhiev's justifications

On November 3, opposition Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov** published a video in which he refuted Mezhiev's justifications, calling them cowardly and absurd. He also provided a literal translation of Mezhiev's words: "In this world, there is an attitude from the enemies of God - the Jews, they gave birth to the atheist movement."

Tumso* emphasized that "the Chechens understood his words exactly as he "he said them. Exactly as Berl Lazar understood them, and exactly as they were translated. From his words in Chechen, not a single native speaker will conclude that he is talking about some Zionists, terrorists, or Nazis. He clearly says the word "zhugti" in Chechen, which is translated as "Jews" and nothing else," he explained.

He especially emphasized that the translation was not done by "Ukrainian Satanists*, but by the official Chechen agency and "they made the correct translation." ⁶.

Expert Assessments

According to experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot," in the statements of the Mufti of Chechnya, who is an official, there are signs of violating Russian legislation on interethnic hatred. However, as experts noted, the likelihood of a criminal case being opened is extremely low due to the mufti's political support from the Chechen leadership. Such statements could contribute to radicalization and the growth of anti-Semitic sentiments in the North Caucasus, and attempts to edit publications and deny what was said are perceived as unsuccessful attempts to avoid responsibility, the experts noted.

For example, Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the Sova Research Center**, noted that Mezhiyev's statements could fall under Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code - "incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity."

Political scientist Sergei Boyko believes that Mezhiyev's speech could be classified as incitement to interethnic hatred, especially given his official status. "And editing and deleting the video is a direct and explicit acknowledgement of the provocative nature of the Chechen mufti's statements," he noted.

Islamic scholar Leonid Syukiyainen believes that "apparently, the person lacks political culture. While this is unlikely to be an ideological position, it does reflect certain sentiments that exist in society." The expert emphasized that such statements from a religious leader are unacceptable and should not be perceived as the position of the entire faith.

* The Russian Supreme Court has declared the "International Satanism Movement" extremist and banned its activities.

** has been added to the register of foreign agents.

1. Salah-Hadji Mezhiev spoke about approaches to faith and issues of apostasy in Islam // Grozny-Inform News Agency, October 25, 2025.
2. https://grozniy.bezformata.com/listnews/salah-hadzhi-mezhiev/152444062/
3. https://t.me/RabbiBerelLazar/355
4. https://t.me/vopros_otvet_v_islame/16277
5. FEOR: The Chechen Mufti's explanations raise doubts // Lechaim, November 2, 2025.
6. https://youtu.be/kBZ8j2MG35Q?si=vAZqmUEzUe_nE1yX