The Muftiate of Dagestan, based on the decision of the fatwa department, has temporarily banned the wearing of niqabs – Muslim women’s headdress that completely covers the entire body and face. The decision is reported in telegram channel the mufti.
The Fatwa Department had previously ruled that there was no sufficient basis for a general ban on the niqab, but that it might be introduced locally for security reasons.
The basis for the temporary ban on wearing niqabs “until the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological opinion is reached” was an appeal from the regional Ministry of National Policy and Religious Affairs.
The Mufti of Dagestan, Akhmad Abdullayev, explained the day before that the ban on the niqab might be a temporary measure – until “complete peace and quiet in the region” – and compared it to the restrictions that were introduced during the coronavirus epidemic. Thus, the position of the fatwa department is in many ways similar to what the mufti said.
Abdullayev announced the issuance of a fatwa (a theological opinion on the implementation of Islamic norms) at a meeting with the head of the republic, Sergei Melikov, with representatives of civil society, the editorial board of Kavkaz.Realii reported. This happened following the attacks on churches and synagogues in Moscow, Makhachkala and Derbent on the evening of June 23. The attackers were men, none of them wore a niqab.
Against wearing the niqab performed head of Dagestan Sergei Melikov. He claimed that such clothing “allows men to hide behind these scarves, and women to carry prohibited items behind these large robes.” A similar position expressed head of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin. In response, the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov called “be extremely careful” when making such statements. The chief imam of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, Ildar Alyautdinov, said that the ban on the niqab might lead to tension in Russian society.
