Human rights defenders associate arsons of ziyarts in Chechnya with pressure on Salafis

In Chechnya, the pressure on members of the Salafi community is constantly increasing, and that results in radicalization of supporters of radical concept of Islam. The recent arsons of ziyarts in Chechnya could be the answer of the Salafis to the policy of the authorities. This opinion was expressed by human rights defenders, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

At night of October 10, at the cemetery in Shali, unidentified persons set on fire the ziyart (mausoleum) of Durdi-Sheikh, one of the followers of Kunta-Khadji Kishiev, the founder of Sufism in Chechnya. On November 16, in the village of Kurchaloi, the ziyart (mausoleum) of Saint Yangulbi-Sheikh was set on fire. Shamil Ergiev, Djabrail Usumov, Islam Yunusov, and Khamzat Uspaev, residents of the village of Mairtup, were detained on suspicion of committing the arson.

The arsons of the ziyarts could result from the persecution in Chechnya of members of the Salafi community. This opinion was expressed by Oleg Orlov, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial". According to him, in general, in 2013, the pressure on members of the Salafi community in Northern Caucasus was renewed. In Chechnya, members of the Salafi concept of Islam are called "Wahhabis".

According to Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, the head of the Russian Representative Office of the International Crisis Group, the Chechen authorities are trying to eradicate all forms of religious dissent. The human rights defender believes that the longer and stronger pressure is put, the more dangerous answer the oppressed side will give.

The expert of the International Crisis Group has noted that the actions of the persons detained for setting the ziyart on fire are a crime and insult the feelings of believers. However, Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya believes that those persons should be punished according to the law and not subjected to public persecution.

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