Mezhiev commented on Berl Lazar's claims regarding his statements about Jews

The words that outraged Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar were incorrectly translated from the Chechen language and published online by "Ukrainian Satanists," stated Chechen Mufti Salah Mezhiyev.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar called on leading Muslim figures on October 30 to distance themselves from the anti-Semitic statements of Chechen Mufti Salah Mezhiyev, who called Jews "enemies of Allah." Following the rabbi's statement, the Chechen news agency removed this portion of Mezhiyev's speech from its publication.

Salah Mezhiev's response to Berl Lazar, recorded on video and lasting over seven minutes, was published this evening by the official Telegram channel of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Chechnya. Mezhiev's explanation boils down to the fact that the Chief Rabbi of Russia used unreliable sources of information, which distorted the meaning of his statements.

"The evil spirits we call 'Satanism,' 'atheism,' 'Zionism,' and similar movements, including Nazism. On October 20th, we aired a program aimed against atheists (...) This program was in Chechen and aimed at the filthy Chechen-speaking atheists who sit in Europe under Ichkerian flags. These atheists translated two words from our program, from my text, and posted them online," Mezhiyev explains in the video.

Ignoring the fact that the Russian translation of his words about Jews was distributed by the Chechen state news agency, the mufti reproached the rabbi for "closely monitoring" the speeches of opponents of the Chechen authorities.

“This publication was made by Ukrainian Satanists* and these atheists. If he (Berl Lazar) relies on their translation and then makes statements, then that’s his problem. We need to be asked what we meant by this text and what we were talking about. When I say ‘enemies of Allah,’ we express ourselves in Chechen with one word: we don’t mean the Jewish nation, we mean filthy Zionists,” Mezhiyev stated.

In his lengthy speech, he failed to explain how the supposedly incorrect translation ended up in a publication by the official Chechen news agency. “All Chechens understand perfectly well that we don’t refer to any nation or religion. Who translated these words for you, what translation are you relying on, what public groups? We need to ask what we actually meant,” the mufti insisted.

As of 9:40 p.m. Moscow time today, no other Russian Islamic figures have publicly responded to Berl Lazar's call to disassociate themselves from Salah Mezhiyev's statements.

Salah Mezhiyev became the mufti of Chechnya in 2014, replacing Sultan Mirzayev, who was declared mufti of the republic for life by Kadyrov but abruptly resigned. Prior to his appointment, Mezhiyev served as deputy mufti. In December 2019, Mezhiyev was re-elected as mufti of Chechnya, and on September 21, 2025, he was re-elected once again. On the same day, the North Caucasus Muslim Coordination Center, which Mezhiyev has headed since September 2024, awarded Ramzan Kadyrov the "Defender of the Sunnah" Order.

The North Caucasus Muslim Coordination Center performs primarily symbolic functions, but the fact that the head of the Chechen Muslim Spiritual Directorate is heading it is the result of Kadyrov's lobbying efforts, according to political scientists and Islamic scholars previously interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot."

* The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has recognized the "International Satanism Movement" as extremist and banned its activities.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.