Use of weapons on Eid al-Fitr confirms stability of local traditions in Chechnya

Shooting on holidays is part of the traditions of Caucasian Muslim nations that have nothing to do with Islam, the Orientalists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have commented on the detention of a Grozny resident who had celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday with shooting in the air.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 9 it became known about the detention of a resident of Grozny, who marked the onset of the Eid al-Fitr holiday (which was celebrated on May 2 this year) by firing into the air. The man was detained after a video in which he fires a civilian weapon appeared on the Internet.

Shooting on the Eid al-Fitr has to do with local traditions, Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, has noted.

"When the month of Uraza Bayram (Eid al-Fitr) starts or ends, people announce it by shooting that the month of Uraza (fasting), for example, has ended, and the days of celebrations begin. This has to do with the traditions of the Chechen people," Ruslan Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The Islamic tradition has no prescriptions regarding shooting as part of celebrations in honour of the Eid al-Fitr or any other Islamic holiday, Leonid Syukiyainen, a professor at the Higher School of Economics and an Islamic scholar, believes.

"This practice is spread only among Caucasian nations. I can say with absolute certainty that these are local traditions and customs that have no direct relation to Islam," the scholar has emphasized.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 9, 2022 at 08:49 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.