MUFTI KADYROV DECLARES
SEVERAL CHECHEN DISTRICTS WAHHABISM-FREE ZONE
(11-11-1999)

In early November, Chechen Mufti A.Kadyrov declared Chechnya's Gudermessky, Nozhai-Yurt and Kurchaloevsky Districts a "Wahhabism-free zone." In several Chechen settlements, where self-defence units have already been formed, local inhabitants have been able to push the rebels out. Kadyrov still relies on "Islamic regiment" commander Yamadayev, who is in charge of the so-called Gudermes Front.

COUNCIL OF MUFTIS OF RUSSIA HIGHLY ASSESSES
ACTIVITY OF MUFTI OF CHECHNYA AHMED KADYROV
(17-11-1999)

The Council of Muftis of Russia highly assesses the activity of Ahmed-Hadzhi Kadyrov, Mufti of Chechnya, and does not consider him to be deprived of his religious rank, said Sheikh Damir Gizatullin, Chairman of the Muslim Board for the Central European Region of Russia, in a RIA Novosti interview.

Gizatullin said that "the Council of Muftis has preserved its very good relationship with Kadyrov and highly assesses his public activity in Chechnya." At the same time, Gizatullin put to doubt the legality of Kadyrov's removal from religious service by President Aslan Maskhadov of Chechnya, the republic's secular leader. The spokesman for the Council of Muftis noted that Kadyrov's activity in ensuring order in Gudermes is aimed at "serving the faithful Muslims and all people living in the Republic." Moreover, he stressed that the Mufti "does not take part in military operations" and recalled that the residents of Gudermes were the ones who had delegated him to Moscow.

Ahmed-Hadzhi Kadyrov have arrived in Moscow today and met with Chairman of the Government Vladimir Putin, Vice-Premier Nikolai Koshman and Chairman of the State Duma Gennady Seleznyov. Ahmed Kadyrov is also expected to visit the Council of Muftis of Russia today.

CHECHEN MUFTI:
"SHAMIL BASAYEV HAS COMMITTED TWO TREACHERIES,
HAVING VIOLATED PEACE WITH RUSSIA
AND ATTACKED DAGESTAN"
(25-11-1999)

"Strangers came to our land and started to teach us Islam, saying that they take more care about Islam than we do. In Chechnya two branches of Islam are professed: Naqshbandiya and Sufi, and the Chechens reject the branch which is being imposed on us by the strangers - Wahhabism," pointed out the Mufti.

"Basayev, or Raduyev or Khattab, who know only how to fight, are teaching us religion today. What can they teach me who at five years of age knew by heart the greater part of the Koran?" He made the strangers responsible for the present war.

The Chechen Mufti said that he brought a message of peace to Moscow.

In Moscow, Ahmed Kadyrov met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the State Duma (lower house of parliament) Gennady Seleznev.

MUFTI DEATH SENTENCE CONDEMNED
(03-12-1999, Cairo)

The director of the press-centre of the League of Arab Nations, Mohumed Lamin, told a RIA Novosti correspondent on Thursday that a call to execute the mufti "exceeds the bounds of human morals and, of course, lies outside the boundaries of Islamic civilization." He was commenting upon a report that the President of Chechnya, Aslan Maskhadov, had removed Ahmed-haji Kadyrov from his post as mufti and had sentenced him to death.

"The mufti of Chechnya was not and could not have been called to his post by the secular authorities of Chechnya, therefore Maskhadov does not have any right whatsoever to remove him," stressed Lampin. "Obviously," he remarked "in legal matters Mr. Maskhadov is used to making decisions based on his own personal criteria, often alien to shariah traditions, to which he has the boldness to refer."

HUMAN RIGHTS BODY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
CONDEMNS CALL BY CHECHEN PRESIDENT ASLAN MASKHADOV
TO "DESTROY" MUFTI KADYROV
(02-12-1999, London)

Amnesty International, an influential international human rights organisation, has strongly condemned a call by Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov to destroy Chechnya's spiritual leader Mufti Akhmed Kadyrov.

Maskhadov declared Mufti Kadyrov enemy No.1 and "one to be killed" for his talks with Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about the future of Chechnya.

Amnesty International is aggrieved that President Maskhadov is threatening Mufti Akhmed Kadyrov with death, Maya Catsenis, an official spokeswoman for the London centre of that organisation, told this correspondent.

"Death threats have no room in a search for a political solution to the situation in Chechnya. It would be more productive to conduct talks".

"Amnesty International is against the death penalty under any circumstances, regardless of whether it has been sanctioned by a court or may become the result of a threat of destruction, as in this case," emphasised the official spokeswoman.

LEADING ISLAMIC IDEOLOGIST
CONDEMNS THREATS AGAINST CHECHNYA'S MUFTI
(02-12-1999, London)

A leading ideologist of the Moslem world, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad, has condemned a statement by Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov that Chechnya's religious leader Akhmed Kadyrov "must be destroyed".

Maskhadov has declared Mufti Kadyrov "enemy No.1" and condemned him to death for talks with Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

This "fatwah" by Maskhadov, that is a curse convicting Mufti Kadyrov to death, has been severely censured by London-based Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad.

"The laws of the Koran will not allow a true Moslem to say: 'the Mufti must be destroyed'," the sheikh said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti.

"President Maskhadov could have said 'the Mufti must not negotiate with the Russians', but to declare that 'the Mufti must be killed' means violating Islamic rules and putting oneself in the position of a criminal".

The sheikh heads the Islamic centre Al Muhajirun, which is an "umbrella" grouping 26 international Moslem organisations with representative missions in many world capitals.

MASKHADOV'S THREATS
ADDRESSED TO THE CHECHEN MUFTI
MANIFEST THE "AGONY" OF THE CHECHEN REGIME,
BELIEVE KREMLIN OFFICIALS
(30-11-1999)

Kremlin officials are "extremely perturbed" by Aslan Maskhadov's threats addressed to Chechen Mufti Akhmad Kadyrov, reported Andrei Loginov, head of the presidential home-policy department and executive secretary of the president's Council on interaction with religious organisations, in an exclusive interview for RIA Novosti. According to Loginov, "Kadyrov symbolizes conciliation, tolerance and tranquillity in the republic," and threats addressed to this person "manifest the agony of Maskhadov's regime." "Not only does Maskhadov transgress the bounds of decency by threatening a clergyman--he is absolutely ignorant of the fact that religious organisations do not report to any secular authorities," pointed out the executive secretary.

According to Loginov, Kremlin officials are "frustrated" by the lack of response to this "scandalous matter" on the part of such international organisations as UNESCO and the UN. At the same time, it is not really surprising because these organisations "also failed to react to the capturing of hostages in Chechnya and to the scale of slave trade reigning there," as well as to the violation of human rights in the republic, stated Loginov.

KOSHMAN AGAINST NEGOTIATIONS WITH MASKHADOV
(29-11-1999)

The Russian Envoy to Chechen Republic, Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Koshman, said Monday at a press conference in Moscow that he was against any negotiations with the nominal Chechen President, Aslan Maskhadov. Maskhadov proved another time that he was at one with bandits, when he has stated today that Mufti Kadyrov was the first enemy. So, there is no point in negotiating with Maskhadov, the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Energetic negotiations with elders of the Chechen settlements of Shali, Argun and Urus-Martan are being held now, the deputy Prime Minister reported. We do all our best to prevent military operations, he stressed.

CHECHEN PRESIDENT ASLAN MASKHADOV'S DEATH SENTENCE
FOR MUFTI KADYROV IS UNFAIR --
TATARSTANI MUFTI COUNCIL
(03-12-1999)

The Mufti Council of Tatarstan believes that the death sentence passed by Chechnya's president Aslan Maskhadov for Mufti Kadyrov is unfair. "We are for peaceful settlement of the Chechen issue", Tatarstani Mufti Gusman-khazart Iskhakov told RIA Novosti in Kazan.

"Under Shariat law man is judged by his intentions rather than deeds", he said. Even is man has committed a grave crime for a good cause he is not judged guilty. But if he has helped somebody in committing a crime he himself is guilty. "Mufti Kadyrov's good intention is to stop the bloodshed and bring peace to Ichkeria. Therefore, he cannot be sentenced to death for willing peace for his people", the mufti of Tatarstan said, voicing the opinion of all its clergy.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS APPLY
DOUBLE STANDARDS TO CHECHEN TERRORISTS
(30-11-1999)

Head of the Russian Information Centre Mikhail Margelov has expressed apprehension about the fact that international organisations do not respond to terrorists' barefaced threats directed at Chechen Mufti Akhmad Kadyrov.

"It astonishes me that neither the UN, nor UNESCO or any other international religious, public, non-governmental or humanitarian organisation paid any attention to the fact that Chechen terrorists openly threaten the Chechen religious leader just because he is striving towards peace and political settlement of the Chechen conflict," stated Margelov.

Margelov reminded that Maskhadov had ordered his secret services to trace and kill the mufti. "The threats addressed to a clergyman have put Maskhadov on the same level as Basayev, Khattab, Usama Ben Laden and other international terrorists," believes the head of the Russian Information Centre. "Odd as it may seem, those who stand for humanism on a world scale have totally ignored this," pointed out Margelov.

RUSSIA'S MUFTI COUNCIL UNDERSTANDS
FEDERAL OPERATIONS IN CHECHNYA
(02-12-1999)

Russia's Mufti Council voiced its backing for operations of the federal authorities in Chechnya, chairman Ravil Gainutdin said through the radio station Moscow's Echo today. The Muslim clergy "is for not one paramilitary base to remain in the territory of the Chechen republic, for Russia to protect its interests and state integrity", he said.

Ravil Gainutdin is sure that the Muslim clergy will stand for peaceful resolution of the Chechen conflict. In this he fully agrees with Chechen Mufti Akhmed Kadyrov. Gainutdin said Kadyrov is for "gradual return to peace negotiations because normal power is being established in territories which are being freed of gang formations". To Kadyrov, "there are now people who really express the interest of the Chechen people. Today they must conduct negotiations with the authorities so as to begin arranging a life of peace after combat operations are over".

MASKHADOV TRYING TO HINDER TALKS ON CHECHNYA,
BELIEVES RUSSIAN SPOKESMAN
(29-11-1999)

This was stated by Russian Information Centre chief Mikhail Margelov as he commented in a RIA Novosti interview on media reports that Kadyrov is, according to Maskhadov, the "chief mastermind" behind the war in the republic and that he has reportedly "made several attempts over the past year to unleash a civil war in Chechnya".

According to the centre chief, Maskhadov was no doubt "touched on the raw by the fact that Moscow does not consider him however worthy a representative of Chechnya at talks" and "hence strange accusations of Kadyrov of fomenting a kind of inter-Chechen struggle".

"Mufti Kadyrov is a clergyman, and his sole weapon is the Koran. And it is not for bandits and criminals to remove, appoint or condemn him," Margelov noted.

He recalled that Kadyrov "supported Maskhadov in March 1999 when Maskhadov hypocritically one more declared war on slave traders and criminals".

"But that war never began. Instead, with Maskhadov's connivance, an act of aggression was launched against Russia's neighbouring region populated by Moslems -- the Republic of Dagestan," said the centre head.

PRESIDENT OF CHECHNYA UNABLE OF RUNNING THE REPUBLIC
(29-11-1999)

The fact that President of Chechnya Aslan Maskhadov proclaimed Mufti Akhmad-Khadzhi Kadyrov the one to blame for the Chechen events, "once again demonstrates the president's political impotence" and "once again confirms that he is unable of governing Chechnya," Director of the Russian Information Centre Mikhail Margelov told Ekho Moskvy radio.

"On the one hand, Maskhadov says that he is willing to hold talks, while on the other, he speaks against the person who has started the negotiations with the federal government," Margelov emphasized.

He also noted that "Mufti Kadyrov's only weapon is the Koran." In addition, Margelov explained, "the mufti was delegated by the residents of Gudermes to the talks with the Russian government." Despite the fact that Kadyrov is not the most desired party to the talks with the federal government, as he was one of Dzhokhar Dudayev's supporters," and holds a stand of his own which does not always coincide with the official viewpoint, but "nevertheless he is the man who has launched the dialogue," the Russian Information Centre head stressed.

Russian Information Agency "RIA Novosti"
http://www.rian.ru/ria/user/eng/index.cfm (english)
http://www.rian.ru/ria/user/frn/index.cfm (french)

Russian Information Centre
http://www.infocentre.ru/eng_user/index.cfm (english)