11:05, 1 December 2020

Mufti scolds Grozny women for wearing niqabs

A story about the "educational conversation" of the Chechen Mufti and the girls who had worn niqabs at the police station. Screenshot of video by the "Grozny" TV Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaHUSbalpGU

The "Grozny" TV Channel has shown a story about the "educational conversation" of the Chechen Mufti and the girls who had worn niqabs. After the talk, the girls took off their dark bandages covering faces.

The Mufti of Chechnya, Salakh Mezhiev, has reminded the girls, whom they gathered at the police station, about the rules for wearing hijabs, noting that in Chechnya they never had wore a niqabs – "traditional garments of Arab women."

Hijab is a Muslim woman's clothing that covers her entire body, with the exception of the face and hands; niqab is a headdress covering the face with a narrow slit for the eyes.

According to Mezhiev, the Sharia Law prescribes no need to cover one's face. "Hijab is mandatory, but you should leave your face and hands open," he said.

The Mufti has pointed out that in the Chechen society, wearing niqabs can be perceived as the adherence to the ideas of Wahhabism, which "run counter nation's customs and traditional Islam."

Some commentators on the Instagram have criticized girls for wearing niqabs. At the same time, some have also criticized the public presentation of the "educational conversation" and spoke for the freedom to choose how to dress.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 30, 2020 at 09:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.