In Dagestan power agents pursue the followers of Turkish theologian Said Nursi

On January 15, a search was conducted and goods were confiscated from one of private shops in the capital of Dagestan. The owner of the shop regards that the actions of power agents were explained by his belonging to the followers of the Turkish philosopher and theologian Said Nursi.

Murad Gasanov, the shop owner, told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that armed militiamen and persons in civil clothes entered the shop and said that they were employees of Prosecutor's Office of the Leninskiy District of Makhachkala. After the search, they took away 2 computer system units and 3000 books written by Said Nursi, a Turkish philosopher and theologian.

Mr Gasanov has reminded that initial persecutions of Dagestan Nursists started in 2005, when armed militiamen and persons in civil clothes used to repeatedly rush into their flats. As he said, "in dirty footwear, having soiled even the praying carpets, they conducted searches and confiscated all the Muslim literature, including the Sacred Koran, computer system units, notebook computers CDs and DVDs."

He also mentioned that everything was done without any official sanctions, and no confiscation protocols were ever compiled.

Nursists tried to seek defence from the official clergy of the Republic. Ahmed Magomedov, Chairman of the experts' board of the Spiritual Department of Dagestan Moslems (SDDM) issued a certificate stating that the books by Nursi "contain no canonical mistakes and are not contradictory to the traditional Islam."