Chechen Imams use Friday prayers to call on believers to go to polls

On September 9, before the Friday prayer, Chechen Imams appealed to believers of their mosques with a call to go to vote at the elections. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by local residents.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 18, on the single day of voting, Chechnya will hold the election of the leader of the republic and the elections of deputies of the State Duma and of the Parliament of the republic.

"On Friday, at the mosque, Imam told us that everyone should go to the elections on September 18. I have been told by my friends and acquaintances that at other mosques, before Friday prayer, Imams also spoke about the upcoming elections and called on the believers to take part in them," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Imran, a resident of the republic.

"The Imam of our mosque has told us that on September 18, we should go to the elections and that we also should call on our relatives and friends to do the same. However, the Imam has noted that he got such an instruction 'from above', that is, he has made that clear that he does not speak on his own behalf," Suleiman, a resident of Grozny, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to believers, earlier, religious leaders have always emphasized inadmissibility to talk in mosques on secular themes and discuss any issues beyond religion.

"In recent year, I and, meanwhile, a lot of other people changed the attitude towards our mullahs to negative, since they openly work for the authorities. And I've got one more confirmation again," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Said-Ali, a resident of the republic.

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