Tatarstan terror

The attack on high-ranking Muslim clerics took place in Tatarstan on July 19, on the eve of Ramadan. In Kazan, the former deputy mufti of the republic, head of the educational department of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Tatarstan, Valiulla Yakupov, was killed in the entrance of his own house. An hour later, the official car of Mufti Ildus Fayzov himself was blown up. The mufti is wounded. There are conflicting reports both about the presence of those killed as a result of the explosion, and about who was driving (according to some sources, Fayzov himself).

Yakupov was the deputy mufti for work with government agencies. The head of the Volga Center for Regional and Ethno-Religious Studies, Rais Suleymanov, believes that his murder is connected with his professional activities: “He was a prominent representative of the traditional movement of Islam and constantly struck a blow at radical Muslims, whose number in Tatarstan has increased significantly in recent years.” Yakupov was known as a fighter against Wahhabism. He held the position of deputy mufti from 2008 to 2011. Fayzov became mufti in 2011.

The murder of Yakupov and the attempt on Faizov’s life are compared with the murders of Islamic clerics in the North Caucasus. There are versions of the involvement of both radical Islamists and security forces in the crimes. In addition, on July 17, it became known that Muslims of Tatarstan wrote an open letter to Fayzov, in which they condemned him for “organizing his own business during the Hajj.” In April of this year, the mufti announced that from now on, only the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Tatarstan, or more precisely the Tatar Business World LLC created under it, will be involved in the sale of tours to Mecca and Medina and sending residents of the republic to the Hajj, reminiscent of Rosbalt.