Dispute of Chechen minister with blogger forces Kadyrov to clarify his father's words about jihad

Ramzan Kadyrov has told about his father's calls for jihad during the first military campaign in Chechnya. He did it against the background of the discussion about Kadyrov Senior that occurred between Minister Djambulat Umarov and blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 22, during their online discussion, Djambulat Umarov, the Minister for National Policy of Chechnya, and the blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov, argued about the reasons of the war in Chechnya. Mr Umarov found it difficult to answer the blogger's question about Akhmat Kadyrov and his appeals for jihad. On February 24, Umarov admitted that Kadyrov Senior called on Chechens to jihad, but "against the criminals who robbed and killed people."

At the meeting, the video of which is posted on the YouTube channel of the "Grozny" State TV and Radio Company, the present head of Chechnya commented on his father's calls for jihad. "When he said that there was jihad, he took the lead and fought. When he said that there was no jihad, he fought against militants. And he never hid, he never sat in the bunker," said Kadyrov.

"Djambulat Umarov has stated that 'one jihad is different from another,' and now Kadyrov has joined the topic," said Beslan, an activist of a local NGO.

Marina, a resident of Chechnya, treats the recent public statements made by Chechen politicians as attempts to "whitewash Akhmat Kadyrov."

The Chechen authorities are publicly responding to statements that could be quite well ignored, said Iman, a student.