Residents of Chechnya treat paid education at madrasahs as being in demand

The paid teaching of the Koran and the Arabic language is in demand in Chechnya; and the demand to introduce free education at madrasahs was a Muftiate's attempt to gain control over this area, local residents and a Caucasus expert have stated.

On August 7, at a meeting of directors and teachers of commercial madrasahs with Salakh Mezhiev, the Mufti of Chechnya, it was decided that madrasahs would not charge fees from students who cannot afford paid education.

In different regions of Russia where Muslims live, madrasahs are sometimes understood to be in charge of teaching the basic principles of Islam, the basics of the Arabic language, and reading the Koran, said Mufti Nafigulla Ashirov, the chairman of the SAM of the Asian part of Russia.

"This does not require any special expenses. In most cases, no fees are charged for this training, or the fees are just symbolic," he said.

Along with this "basic level" of training, there are secondary specialized educational establishments called madrasahs. "In most cases, students of secondary and higher Muslim schools are not charged for their training," Mufti Ashirov said, adding that the Sharia Law allows charging fees for training.

A resident of Chechnya named Yuni said that almost "in every village" there are people who teach the Koran and the Arabic language, and their services are in demand. "Now, they suggest either to switch to free education, and the SAM will pay teachers, or to close them at all. Apparently, they want to subjugate all the teachers. But the paid system is convenient because it is within walking distance in both villages and cities," Yuni has explained.