Experts predict departure of Abu Khalid's supporters to Middle East

The preacher Nadir Abu Khalid (Medetov), who has sworn to the terrorist "Islamic State", will not return to Dagestan, said the experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot"; they predict that preacher's supporters will followed his call and emigrate to the Middle East conflict zone.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Nadir Medetov (Nadir Abu Khalid), a well-known Salafi preacher from Dagestan, swore to the leader of the "Islamic state", which was recognized terrorist organization, and urged his supporters to follow his example. Video, showing how Nadir Abu Khalid met members of the IS and sworn to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terrorist organization, was posted on YouTube on May 23.

The likelihood of Hijra (resettlement) of Medetov's followers is high, says Khamza Dmitry Chernomorchenko, editor-in-chief of golosislama.ru website.

"If some of his supporters decide to follow their mentor, then, undoubtedly, they will go to the IS – they won’t stay in the territory of Northern Caucasus, because his call for resettlement was addressed to those who can depart," claims Chernomorchenko.

The Caucasian young people's accession to the IS "is mostly irreversible," says Ruslan Kurbanov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"Most of the Caucasians, who join the IS, leave forever, with no intention to come back to Russia. This is due to the fact that in the minds of young believers the events in Syria have an eschatological sense, since according to prophetic predictions, closer to the Day of Judgment, Muslims will gather for the decisive battle in the land of Sham (the Levante), which comprises Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon," Kurbanov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Abdullah Rinat Mukhametov, a political scientist and an Islamic scholar, said in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he could not specify the number of Medetov's supporters who may follow him. However, he noted that "Medetov is a popular preacher among a significant part of Caucasian youth."

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