• The Mufti of Dagestan is set to issue a fatwa banning the niqab following a terrorist attack which took place last month in Makhachkala.
• The issue of equating Islam with terrorism led to Clashes between Ramzan Kadyrov (head of the Chechen republic) and Alexander Bastrykin (head of the Russian Investigative Committee).
The Russian republic of Dagestan is set to ban the niqab worn by some Muslim women. This decision was announced on Monday by the region’s Chief Mufti Akhmad Abdullayev. This follows a recent terrorist attack which took place last month. Militants targeted Christians and Jews in the region, resulting in the deaths of over 20 people, including a dozen police officers, and injuring 40 more in Derbent and the regional capital, Makhachkala.
Chief Mufti Akhmad Abdullayev revealed that the Muftiate of Dagestan would soon issue a fatwa banning the niqab. This announcement came during a meeting with Dagestan’s regional head, Sergey Melikov. Abdullayev acknowledged the potential backlash from many Russian Muslims but maintained a firm stance, stating that “My attitude towards people who will criticize me is neutral”. This however seems odd given that the niqab is a simply a piece of clothing worn by Muslim women and not to mention veiling is also practiced by some Orthodox Christian women and orthodox Christianity is the biggest religion in Russia. Some Russian officials make the claim that the niqab is a “security threat”, Would Orthodox Christian women then also be banned from veiling due to security reasons?
The regional governor, Sergey Melikov, has been vocal about the “security risks” associated with the niqab, especially in the wake of last month’s terrorist attack despite the fact that no correlation has been shown between the niqab and the terrorist attack. He argued that the niqab could be used to conceal identities and hide prohibited items, making it a “significant security concern”. “This clothing is not typical for the peoples of the Caucasus. But I am also against this from a security standpoint,” Melikov stated. His statements reflect a growing sentiment in the Kavkaz and Central Asian regions against clothing which may be seen as “Arab culture”. He further tries to make a link between the terrorist attacks and the niqab calling it a “security concern” in an attempt to justify this ban knowing that he will face backlash if he doesn’t make this link.
The niqab has been a contentious issue across Russia. In May, Valery Fadeev, the head of Russia’s Human Rights Council, proposed a national ban on the niqab, citing the need to curb “Islamic militancy” after the Crocus City Hall attack. This is also contradictory as Russia made it clear that they believed that Ukraine and the US were behind this attack, so it wouldn’t make sense to ban the niqab in Russia if the threat came from outside of the country. This proposal was met with resistance from Moscow’s chief mufti, Ildar Alyautdinov, who argued that such a ban would infringe on religious freedoms. The Russian government ultimately sided with Alyautdinov, rejecting the niqab ban on a national level.
Alyautdinov has yet to comment on Dagestan’s decision. Previously, he stated that the Muslim community would support a niqab ban only if law enforcement could establish a direct link between wearing the garment and an increased risk of extremism.
There is no doubt that this ban is due to heavy pressure from the Russian government. The head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, urged officials to urgently impose such a ban in response to recent terrorist attacks in Dagestan. Alexander Bastrykin made his remarks at the International Youth Legal Forum in St. Petersburg. Bastrykin labeled the perpetrators as “Islamist terrorists” and suggested that the niqab facilitated the spread of “Islamic terror” within Russia. He argued that it was the duty of the State Duma (lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia) to legislate a ban on the niqab, referencing similar bans in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Bastrykin’s statements of “Islamist terrorists” prompted a strong reaction from Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the predominantly Muslim republic of Chechnya and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kadyrov took to Telegram to voice his opposition.
He warned Bastrykin to be “extremely careful” asserting that Muslims do not commit terrorist acts and emphasising the need to avoid equating Islam with terrorism.
As tensions rise between two high ranking Russian officials, President Vladimir Putin’s potential involvement in this debate will be crucial in resolving internal conflicts and addressing the public’s concerns about terrorism without alienating significant portions of the population.
It is important to note that the bans/restriction on the niqab/hijab in the Central Asian countries, which are under the Russian sphere of influence, have predominantly banned/restricted the niqab/hijab due to it not being part of their culture and in an attempt to pursue secularist goals. However, in the Kavkaz republics of Chechnya and Dagestan, Russian officials seeking to ban the niqab put more emphasis on the “security risk” without being able to provide a link between Muslim women dressing more modestly and terrorist attacks.
