Criticism of Sufism tells on Tumso's popularity

The Mufti of Chechnya has damned the blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, for his harsh criticism of the Sufi rites widespread in the republic. The blogger has violated the rules of a religious dispute, and pushed some of his supporters away, Islamic scholars believe.

In his new video, "Whether you like it or not, an alcoholic is better than a Sufi", Tumso Abdurakhmanov has stated that he treats the "rites of zikr, when people are running, jumping and hopping" as "a pandemonium." "What you are doing is a newly introduced rite, forbidden in the Islam. For me, any person, who is an alcoholic or drug addict, <...> is better than the person, who administers the rites of dhikr (zikr), mawlid and so on," said Tumso, explaining that the adherents of dhikr and mawlid are "encroaching on the religion of Almighty Allah."

On October 21, Tumso posted on his YouTube channel "Abu-Saddam Shishani" a video "Muftiate in rage", in which he spoke about the violent reaction of the Chechen clergy to his comparing of adherents of mawlids and zikrs with drug addicts and alcoholics.

The Chechen activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent believe that the criticism of Sufi adherents has diverted a certain part of social network users away from Tumso. "Abdurakhmanov has got opponents even from among those who had earlier expressed sympathy to him. At the same time, now, in our society, there is a certain layer – mostly, young people, who stick to the same point of view as Tumso. But we usually call them 'Wahhabis', and today they are deprived of a chance to openly express their opinions," said Umar, a resident of Chechnya.

Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior fellow at the Centre for Caucasian Studies at the MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations), believes that Abdurakhmanov's statements "go beyond the boundaries of a religious dispute and moral boundaries." "In a dispute, especially a religious one, one cannot insult opponents, especially when comparing them with alcoholics and drug addicts," Mr Yarlykapov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Mr Yarlykapov believes that such rhetoric will inevitably push a part of Tumso's audience from among Sufism followers away from Abdurakhmanov.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 23, 2019 at 09:49 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.