Collective prayer of Chechen theologians provokes indignation of social network users

On May 24, in Grozny, about 400 religious figures gathered for the only holiday namaz (prayer) in Chechnya on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen TV and Radio Company) reported. Amid the restrictions imposed because of the pandemic, ordinary believers had to celebrate the holiday at home, Instagram users complained.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in Chechnya, the period from May 23 to 26 was announced to be holidays on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. On the eve of the holiday, the Muftiate of Chechnya urged residents of the republic to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday in the family circle because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On the first day of the Eid al-Fitr celebration, religious figures from various towns and villages of Chechnya held a collective id-namaz (holiday prayer) at the "Heart of Chechnya" Mosque in Grozny. The event became the only collective prayer in the republic on the holiday, reported the "Grozny" ChGTRK in its story broadcasted on May 24.

Many users of social networks have left critical comments under reports about the collective prayer posted on the Instagram public account "ChP Chechnya" and the news agency "Chechnya Today". "If they held it (id-namaz) there, so why didn't they allow it to be held in other villages? It could be held in the villages in a similar way," wrote, in particular, user _shah_19_ in the Chechen language. "Why may they go to the mosque, but others are not allowed to? Why do they impose a kind of selective tough measures of self-isolation for ordinary residents only?" wrote user bkr_yang.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 25, 2020 at 12:16 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.