Dagestan imposes niqab ban amid lingering aftermath of bombings
Dagestan is still feeling the effects of the June bombings, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. On Wednesday (07-03), a ban on wearing the niqab, a Muslim head covering for women, was introduced. This decision is surprising, given that followers of Islam predominantly inhabit the area.
On Sunday, June 23, a series of terrorist attacks targeted churches and synagogues in Dagestan. As a result of the shootout with the police, 22 people were killed, and it was determined after the incident that Wilayat Caucasus, the local branch of the Islamic State in the North Caucasus, organized the attack.
The attack is a significant image problem for the local authorities, damaging the Kremlin's vision of "Russian interfaith, interreligious, and interethnic unity." Therefore, the local authorities announced the creation of a ban on wearing the niqab by Muslim women the Monday after the attack.
Despite some opposition from followers of Islam, the ban officially came into effect on Wednesday, July 3.
In contrast to belief, Dagestan introduces changes in the law
The mufti, citing the appeal of the Ministry of National Policy and Religious Affairs, which reports an existing threat to the security of the republic's population and based on the competent conclusion issued yesterday by the fatwa department, announces a temporary ban on wearing niqabs until the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological conclusion is issued – reads the statement quoted by the Meduza.io portal.
The chief mufti of Dagestan, Ahmed Abdulayev, instructed men who do not want their wives' faces publicly visible to "leave them at home" (sic!). Interestingly, the custom of wearing niqabs is a foreign influence—traditionally, Muslim women in the Caucasus wore scarves covering only their hair and neck.
After a thorough analysis of Sharia texts in four madhabs, the fatwa department does not see sufficient grounds to make a decision on a general ban on the niqab. It is worth noting that in certain situations, for security reasons, a local ban on wearing the niqab may be introduced, as the security of society is paramount in Islam - could be read on the Telegram channel.
Russian propaganda tries to present ethnic and religious tensions as "Western" problems that Russians need not face, but this is not true. Racism flourishes in the army against residents of the Asian part of Russia. For years, there have been tensions and attacks on religious grounds in Dagestan and Chechnya, one of the more recent prominent incidents being the anti-Semitic storming of the airport in Makhachkala.
All minor incidents, however, were overshadowed by the Islamic terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow. In the bloodiest attack in Russia in 20 years, over 140 people were killed, and over 550 were injured. The Afghan branch of ISIS claimed the attack, but the Kremlin insists that Islamists could not have carried out the attack, as Russia is a "unique example of interfaith, interreligious, and interethnic unity."
