Dagestan: dialogue of two Islam trends instead of rally against power agents' violations

In Dagestan, after the Friday prayer, near the central mosque of the city of Khasavyurt, a dialogue of advocates of the Sufi and Salafi trends of Islam took place. In the course of the joint debate the believers stated that imams should be elected, not appointed. They decided to convene the Board of Imams before the start of the Ramadan month.

Today, at the same place, it was schedued to hold a rally against the tyranny of power agents in relation to Muslims, but the rally never took place.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Rasul Ismailov, a human rights activist, a co-chair of the human rights organization "Civil Alternative" and a participant of the dialogue, imams of the mosques do not realize the importance of their role. "An imam must organize people, be responsible for what happens and fight against negative phenomena prevailing in the society," said Ismailov.

The outcome of the dialogue was the decision of the audience to convene, before the start of the Ramadan month, the Board of Imams with participation of religious leaders of the Sufi and Salafi trends of Islam. The Board will discuss Muslims' socially relevant issues.

State officials did not take part in the dialogue; however, a large number of power agents were present, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.