The magic formula of damnation (weekly review) By Vadim Borshchev, special to Prague Watchdog
The military operation by Chechen and Ingush interior ministry forces in the two republics has been in progress for nearly two months now. It appears, however, that the campaign has not brought the desired result. Even the tone of President Kadyrov’s speeches on the subject has changed. Back in June he gave his law enforcement agencies a month to return the supposedly last remaining dozen or two "satans" to the nether world, presenting the feasibility of this task as a foregone conclusion. But now his confidence in a swift and conclusive victory has been placed on the back burner. The new strategy of the Islamic insurgents, who this summer have staked their success on the deployment of suicide bombers and terrorists, has for a time at least smudged the adroitly painted picture of Chechen peace and stability.
Kadyrov now has no option but to forget about the defeat his forces have suffered, and restrict himself to talking about how his security officials have been able to erect an effective barrier against the bandit formations and thereby save the lives of hundreds of the republic’s citizens. Some time ago, Kadyrov's closest ally, Adam Delimkhanov, who was appointed to lead the military operation, appealed for help to members of the republic’s Islamic clergy. The clerics humiliated the enemy not only with words and ritual dances, but also with a demonstration of their willingness to use lethal weapons against them. Right at the beginning of the operation, Chechen mullahs under Delimkhanov’s direction shot up a forest in Ingushetia, leaving no doubt of their ability to fight the forces of evil with more than just the word of Allah.
Now it seems that, because of the less than total effectiveness of military methods, the republic's leaders are willing to try their luck again with the “Islamic” one. This time they have decided to defeat the enemy with the help of a collective curse addressed to the "Forest Brothers". Kadyrov’s press service says that during Friday prayers in Grozny "tens of thousands of citizens of the Chechen Republic (...) expressed their universal condemnation of the organizers and executors of a series of explosions carried out on the republic’s territory." Sultan Mirzayev, the mufti of Chechnya, completely lost his temper. According to him, "Islam does not preach violence and categorically condemns terrorism.” Mirzayev’s press service states that “by blowing themselves up they are not only committing a sin (suicide), but are also killing completely innocent civilians. The concept of the shahid (martyr) which the leaders of the militants manipulate, is wholly out of place in the hands of bandits and terrorists". One might find it possible to agree with the sentiments of this statement about the incompatibility of Islam with violence were the statement not uttered by Kadyrov’s mufti.
The fact is that the magical practices resorted to by the Chechen mullahs have more to do with pagan ritual than the Muslim faith. Yet Ramzan Kadyrov seems to believe that the energies of the curse are capable of casting the “satans” into outer darkness and thus helping the police in their arduous daily tasks.
Caucasus Emirate leader Dokka Umarov’s insurgents have not been slow to respond. The high command of the Mujahideen of the Vilayat G1alg1aiche, aka Ingushetia, has threatened to kill the mufti’s staff as well as the members of the NGOs included in President Yevkurov’s so-called “public commission”, which engages in door-to-door searches in its search for suspicious characters. This threat is also a kind of curse, in its way, and the insurgents are implementing it themselves. Umarov’s recent threats to kill the parents of police officers, which sounded no less serious, have as yet remained unfulfilled. The current "curse" has a better chance of success, since it does not deviate much from the insurgents’ routine practice. Their habit of shooting Islamic clergy and other civilians who disagree with the "forest" version of Islam is one they formed a long time ago.
In conclusion it remains to be noted that in Islam the curse, being unrighteous, does not vanish into thin air, but returns to the person who does the cursing. This is how the 8th century judge and preacher Abu-Darda put it in a hadith:
"If a slave of Allah curses something, the curse rises to heaven and the gates of heaven are locked against it. Then it falls to the earth and the gates of the earth are locked against it and then it goes to the right and to the left and when it does not find any entrance, it returns to that which was cursed if it deserves it. Otherwise it returns to the one who said it."
Picture: ingushetia.org. (Translation by DM) (P,DM)
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