Ingush imam Tamaskhanov highlights reasons for his persecution

A criminal case against Ingush imams is related to their religious activities, including the construction of mosques and support for the “Antilirika” movement, Mukhammad Tamaskhanov states.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Mukhammad Tamaskhanov, the imam of the mosque in Nazran, and Magomed Sultygov, the imam of the mosque in Karabulak, were detained on April 10. According to the investigators’ version, the imams did not report to the police that they had been approached for help by a member of a militant grouping led by Amirkhan Gurazhev, which attacked checkpoints of the road-and-patrol police service (known as DPS) in Ingushetia. After their detention, Mukhammad Tamaskhanov and Magomed Sultygov were released on bail. Both of them are popular among followers of the Salafi trend of Islam.

In an appeal posted on his YouTube channel, Imam Mukhammad Tamaskhanov has claimed that law enforcers disclosed to him the real reasons for his persecution.

“The first reason for my detention is the fact that we have opened a mosque (in Nazran), although I was told not to do that ... The second reason is my dispute (with theologian Akraman Bekov in November 2024). I was also told not to hold the dispute, but we held it,” the imam explained.

Imam Mukhammad Tamaskhanov has also mentioned the construction of the mosque in the town of Centre-Kamaz in Nazran as one of the reasons for his persecution. “We started building the mosque, but there were people who started writing complaints and the construction was stopped,” the imam claimed.

Another reason is the “Antilirika” movement. “I was accused of supporting them,” Imam Mukhammad Tamaskhanov explained.

The “Antilirika” association is doing a great job in Ingushetia to combat drug addiction, although lynching drug dealers is unacceptable, the Ingush Minister of Nationalities has stated. Drug addiction is ruining the lives of young people, and activists are trying to resist it at their own risk, residents of Ingushetia argue.