"The danger of the spread in the country of the so called Wahhabism, in the name of which all sorts of crimes are being committed, cannot but worry us, Moslems -- citizens and patriots of Russia. The terror and violence, the imposition of rules of behaviour of the barbarous Middle Ages have nothing in common with Islam. Involvement in terrorism and gangsterism puts a person outside of Islam", it is said in a statement by the Council of Muftis of Russia signed by its chairman Sheikh R. Gainutdin.

For the past several years the Spiritual Board of Moslems in the Northern Caucasus made futile warnings to government bodies about the danger of pseudo-religious extremism nurtured by the economic and social troubles in the country, the statement says. Our sermons are directed at stopping the further spread of "Wahhabism", we write about this in our press and we are trying to say this on television.

But there are destructive forces in society interested in splitting the country along ethnic and religious lines, the statement says. These forces are using the tragic events in the Northern Caucasus, the acts of terrorism in the center of Russia to unleash a wild anti-Islamic propaganda and to present every Moslem as an enemy.

The Council of Muftis of Russia qualified the so called Wahhabism as a phenomenon alien to religion and stated that the terrorists and bandits have nothing in common with Islam, which is a religion of peace.

November 12, 1999