Four residents of Chechnya detained for setting Kurchaloi ziyart on fire

Four residents of the village of Mairtup are suspected of setting on fire the ziyart (mausoleum) of Yangulbi-Sheikh in the Chechen village of Kurchaloi. The Chechen Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) has called the arson of the ziyart (mausoleum) the second case after the similar incident in Shali a crime against religion and believers.

At night of October 10, at the cemetery in Shali, unidentified persons set on fire the ziyart (mausoleum) of Durdi-Sheikh, one of the murids (followers) of Kunta-Khadji Kishiev, the founder of Sufism in Chechnya. The report on arson came to the SMS-service "Caucasian Knot" on October 11. According to Chechen religious figures, Chechnya has never seen such incidents since the Bolshevik era.

On November 16, the ziyart in the village of Kurchaloi was also set on fire.

"Shamil Ergiev, Djabrail Usumov, Islam Yunusov, and Khamzat Uspaev, 19-year-old residents of the village of Mairtup, are detained for arson of the ziyart of revered Saint Yangulbi-Sheikh at the cemetery of the village of Kurchaloi," reported an official from the law enforcement bodies.

According to him, the detainees have confessed that they committed the act of vandalism. The law enforcers found that difficult to say what kind of punishment the arsonists are facing.

The Muftiyat prepares meetings of citizens to discuss the arsons of the ziyarts.

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