Jinn story involves Chechen clergymen in practice of public reproaches

The Deputy Qadi, who refuted the jinns' attack on the house of a Vashendaroi villager, has got involved in the practice of public reproaches, characteristic for Chechen authorities. Reprimanding in public of people by clergymen is not welcomed in Islam, said Akhmet Yarlykapov, an Islamic scholar.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 16, WhatsApp users reported that jinns had staged a pogrom in the house of a resident of the village of Vashendaroi, Shatoi District, making arsons. The Deputy Qadi of the Shatoi District posted a video in the Instagram jointly with the above villager, in which he called these rumours untrue. A day later, the Deputy Qadi posted a new message, in which he acknowledged that in Vashendaroi Alims had to confront jinns.

The video with the Chechen villager and the Deputy Qadi is a continuation of the practice of public reproaches and apologies widespread in Chechnya, said Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, Director of the Conflict Analysis and Prevention Centre.

"I don't exclude that the video was recorded under pressure. This is another manifestation of the practice of public reprimands and apologies," she told the "Caucasian Knot".

In her opinion, this practice will only intensify in Chechnya. "This is a control mechanism, because moral humiliation is very scary for many Chechens, worse than physical pain and torture," Ms Sokiryanskaya has stated.

Earlier, the practice of public reproaches was not previously used by Chechen clergymen, said Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior researcher at the Centre for Studying Caucasus of the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations (known as MGIMO). According to his story, this practice is not welcomed in Islam; with the exception of judicial consideration of criminal offenses.

"In Islam, it is believed that it is best when a wrongdoer remains unknown to others; that one shouldn't spread information about others' mistakes. And if they're still talking about misconduct, they shan't name persons. The fact that they had posted the record on the Internet is not quite the Muslim way," Mr Yarlykapov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 21, 2019 at 06:40 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.