10:03, 9 September 2018

Fate of Muslims' Coordination Centre of Northern Caucasus is linked with authorities' position

The North-Caucasian Muslims' Coordinating Centre was created 20 years ago to help the state in confronting extremism, the journalists Maxim Shevchenko and Evgeny Kratov have stated. Ruslan Kurbanov, an Orientalist, believes that the future of the Centre depends on the position of Russian authorities.

The Muslims' Coordinating Centre, or the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Northern Caucasus, is a religious organization of Muslims of North-Caucasian, created on the initiative of the first president of Chechnya, Ahmat Kadyrov. In 2012, the Muftiate of Chechnya quitted the Centre; and in 2017, the SAM of Dagestan did the same. Caucasian scholars believe that Muftiates are in poor need of such an organization, since they compete with each other.

The major problem for the founders of the Centre was the war in Northern Caucasus, Ismail Berdiev, the head of the Centre, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his story, the Coordinating Centre continues its religious and public work.

Asfar Shaov, Deputy Mufti of the SAM of Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory, believes that the Centre is still useful for the SAM. However, the fruits of the Centre's efforts cannot immediately reach an ordinary Muslim.

In the opinion of Maxim Shevchenko, a journalist, the Centre has played an important role in "confronting the ideology of extremism and terrorism."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 8, 2018 at 05:01 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Rustam Djalilov

Source: CK correspondent