Mass brawl in the central mosque of Derbent

On April 9, a mass brawl broke out in the central mosque of the Dagestan city of Derbent, in which several hundred people took part. 24 people were seriously injured, including four employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (two of them were stabbed). The cause of the clash was the conflict between the supporters of the current imam of the mosque, Said Gasim, who is supported by the Republican DUM, and Sheikh Sirazhudin Khurigsky, who is applying for the same post. A dispute over the ritual of performing prayers quickly escalated into a fight after someone directly called the adherents of the latter "Wahhabis." The arrived riot police had to break into the building of the mosque, where the opponents of the current imam barricaded themselves. Several dozen people were detained. A criminal case has been initiated under the articles "hooliganism" and "infliction of bodily harm."

In an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta, political scientist Murad Meshkhoev commented on the incident: “In this case, we are talking about a banal (if I may say so in relation to the ancient mosque) desire to take over the mosque. Left without the house of Allah, the believers would be more accommodating. Actually, even "That's not what worries those who want to capitalize on all religious buildings. Mosques, whatever you say, is a little power, some money, imams become "respected people." Capturing mosques allows you to increase your influence, including political."

On April 11 , news agency REGNUM reported that a commission of the Spiritual Muslim Board of Dagestan headed by the mufti of the republic Akhmed-Khadji Abdulaev had left for Derbent to investigate what had happened. In his address, shown on local television, the mufti said that, in his opinion, the clash was provoked by some "third force" interested in destabilizing the situation in the region.

Sources

• Mekhtikhanov A., Radjabov G. The personnel issue led to the mass brawl of Muslims // News. 2005. April 11.
• Fatullaev M., Bondarenko M. Muslims did not divide the house of Allah: the dispute over the old Dagestan mosque turned into a mass brawl // Independent newspaper. 2005. April 11.
• A commission left for Derbent to investigate the case of a mass brawl in a mosque // IA REGNUM. 2005. April 11.