02:22, 3 February 2016

In Khasavyurt, new Imam appointed to "Severnaya" mosque

Protest march to the City Administration of Khasavyurt. Photo: Magomed M.

On February 2, in Khasavyurt, believers of Salafi mosque "Severnaya" (Northern) elected a new Imam.

On January 31, a message arrived at the SMS-service of the "Caucasian Knot" reporting about an attempt to close a mosque in Khasavyurt. Local residents confirmed that in the evening on January 31, power agents gathered in the vicinity of the mosque. Later on the same day, eyewitnesses told that law enforcers had closed the mosque "Severnaya" by welding up its entrance door. According to authorities, the closure of the mosque was caused by the fact that it had been erected in the place allocated for construction of individual residential facilities. In the evening the mosque was reopened and the parishioners could administer their namaz (prayer) there.

"Arsen Shushaev was elected the new Imam of the mosque. He is chosen by the Jamaat of the mosque," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by a staff member of the mosque, who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons.

According to him, after the opening of the mosque, the situation is calm.

"On February 1, after the march, it was agreed that the mosque would be opened, and we performed the evening prayer here. Not many people came to the mosque - 20 people at most. It was, rather, a kind of a sign for us to show that everything ended well and that we defended our mosque and our right to pray wherever we liked," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Magomed-Rasul Magomedov, a mosque-goer.

He has confirmed that the new Imam was elected on February 2.

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

Source: CK correspondent