22:26, 4 January 2019

Authorities of Chechnya and Ingushetia report about thousands participants of Kunta-haji Kishiev's Memorial Day

Events in memory of Saint Kunta-haji Kishiev on the occasion of the 155th anniversary of his deportation, Ingushetia. Photo: http://www.ingushetia.ru/news/meropriyatiya_posvyashchennye_153_y_godovshchine_so_dnya_ssylki_velikogo_sufiya_kunta_khadzhi_kishie/

Chechnya and Ingushetia have held events in memory of Saint Kunta-haji Kishiev on the occasion of the 155th anniversary of his deportation. According to the Ingush authorities and the Chechen clergy, several thousand people took part in events. Residents of Chechnya said that Imams had warned them about the must to participate in religious ceremonies.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in Chechnya, the Kunta-haji Kishiev's Commemoration Day is marked on January 3 since 2009.

Kunta-haji Kishiev is a Chechen Islamic mystic and preacher of the time of the Caucasian War. He is often called the "Chechen Gandhi", because he advocated non-resistance to evil by violence and passive resistance.

On January 3, residents of Chechnya held prayers in memory of Kunta-haji Kishiev, said the spokesman of the republic's Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM).

According to Chechen authorities, tens of thousands local residents took part in religious events on January 3.

On January 3, religious ceremonies in memory of Kunta-haji Kishiev also took place in Ingushetia, in the territory of the memorial complex in Nazran. In total, more than 4000 people took part in the event, the Ministry for Foreign Relations, National Policy and Press of Ingushetia has reported.

The number of participants of the religious ceremonies in memory of Kunta-haji Kishiev voiced out by Ingush authorities caused doubts in the Telegram-channel "Glavkom RI".

"The Chechen Ministry for Nationalities has stated that more than 4000 people visited the event in Nazran. In fact, there were no more than 500 of them," says the message of the "Glavkom RI".

Believers from Chechnya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that on the eve of the celebrations, the heads of communities were notified about the must to take part in the Day of Commemoration and Reverence of Kunta-haji Kishiev.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 4, 2019 at 05:17 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.