Chechen Minister justifies himself for being awarded with Orthodox order

Djambulat Umarov, Chechen Minister of National Policy, recorded a video message in response to negative reviews in connection with being awarded with the "Glory and Honour" Third Degree Order of the Russian Orthodox Church. Social network users and residents of the republic found that the Djambulat Umarov's award from the Russian Orthodox Church contradicted the concepts of Islam.

"A decree on awarding the Minister was signed ... for his active long-term participation in the activities of the Orthodox community of the Chechen Republic," reported the Chechen Ministry of National Policy on its official website.

According to Djambulat Umarov, "friendship and cooperation with people of other nationalities and confessions are one of the most important principles applied by Ramzan Kadyrov."

In his video message posted on YouTube, Djambulat Umarov states that "he is a Muslim and will never, under any circumstances, change his faith in the Almighty Allah."

Meanwhile, residents of the region also noted a contradiction in the award granted to Djambulat Umarov.

"I didn't like the fact that the ceremony for awarding Djambulat Umarov was held in a church ... I don't know how to correlate the fact with the concepts of Islam," said Abu, a resident of Grozny.

"After the video was posted on YouTube, where Djambulat Umarov was awarded the order from the Russian Orthodox Church in a church, gossip appeared that he had allegedly changed his religion. It's clear that this is not true, but people just use this way to express their indignation," said activist Lechi.