Translated material
Those who fell into "Akhmat"
Review by Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev* of Apti Alaudinov’s book about the war with the Antichrist
(18+) THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED AND (OR) SENT BY FOREIGN AGENT KURAEV ANDREY VYACHESLAVOVYCH OR CONCERNES THE ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN AGENT KURAEV ANDREY VYACHESLAVOVYCH.
In the fall of 2025, Russian Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat unit formed in Chechnya, co-authored with the imam from Chechnya Magomed Khaitanaev the book “The Army of Jesus (Isa, peace be upon Him) in the battle against the army of the Dajjal-Antichrist.”
Speaking at the presentation of the book, Alaudinov said: “In essence, it is a document that sets out the ideological component of the Akhmat special forces: who we are, what we are, why we are all together, why we are fighting.”
“After reading this book, ” it is said in the Afterword, “ it becomes clear that the ideology of the Akhmat special forces is that all believers in God stand up for the defense of Divine foundations and family values, regardless of nationality and religion” (p. 106).
The book states that “Five things must be protected in all heavenly religions, and these are protection: religion, life, property, race, reason... The Almighty has endowed man with reason and elevated him above animals. And what stupefies a person, his consciousness and mind, the Lord forbids us to use” (p. 85).
That's true. But it is characteristic that the question of acceptable means of defense is not discussed in the book.
And in it I come across the following statements: “The Pope, who considers himself God’s viceroy on earth, has allowed gender change. He allowed union (marriage) between humans and animals. He allowed union (marriage) between people and inanimate things (objects). He allowed incest, that is, marriage between relatives, and this means a marriage between brother and sister, between son and mother, between father and daughter, and so on according to kinship. The Pope officially participates in the opening of the Satanic Temple” (pp. 78‒79).
And I stand up in defense of reason and demand: prove these accusations! Never and nowhere have Roman popes done what the Russian-Chechen general incriminates them.
But it is clear that what is meant by the defense of reason is not the program of the European Enlightenment. This is a thesis against alcoholism and drug addiction. So what can be done with an alcohol market? Administratively close? Burn it? Kill the sellers? Buyers?
The preacher-general painted the image of the enemy as gloomily as possible: “In NATO countries, in the West, non-humans appear who burn the Holy Scriptures, encroach on the feelings of believers, defame the names of the Prophets, make various vile films, call the Prophets and Messengers liars, draw vile caricatures of them, distort the truth, turn people into slaves of the devil, follow the path of Satan and do evil.” (p. 62).
The principle here is not so much collective, but simply geographical responsibility. After such a definition of the circle of enemies, it is not difficult to justify launching a thermonuclear strike “against the West” in general.
“The forces of evil are enormous. Dark forces have rallied against God and are openly fighting against believers. Who are Satanists**? These are the followers of Satan. People who do not adhere to divine principles are considered Satanists. These include various sects, apostates, idolaters, fire-worshippers, polytheists, tyrants, Nazis, fascists, Zionists, Wahhabis and other apostates from the true faith” (pp. 64 and 72).
The word “Nazi-fascists” bridges the gap between religious rhetoric and state anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Since “Nazis” are “Satanists,” then the war of the Russian Federation with those whom it has designated as “Nazis” becomes a holy war with Satanists: “The destruction of Satanists and the Kiev junta is our sacred task! The Almighty says: “It is prescribed for you to fight” (Koran, 2:216)... The Almighty says: “Fight them until temptation disappears and until religion (worship) is completely dedicated to God” (Koran, 8:39). Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever fought to exalt the word of God, defending the Divine laws, is on the sacred path (on the sacred jihad!" (Bukhari) "... Currently, we are convinced that we are in the Holy War and that we are on the true path. We ask the Almighty to forgive our sins and help us find peace, confidence in our Holy battle with the world Satanism. And may the Almighty God grant us Victory over the armies of the Antichrist-Dajjal!”
The text of the book is here , post dated November 11, 2025.
...It is interesting that Alaudinov’s book aroused criticism even in the Patriarchate: “On February 5, 2026, the deputy chairman of the Synodal Missionary Department for Apologetic Mission, priest Sergiy Fufaev, gave a scientific and apologetic report “Assessment of the ideas of modern Islamic apologists about the Coming of Jesus Christ: a view from the point of view of the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church” at the V General Church Seminar of the Community of Teachers and Researchers of the Holy Scriptures in Moscow Theological Academy (160 participants).
The report, in the light of Orthodox doctrine, analyzed the religious-syncretistic ideology set forth in the book “The Army of Jesus in the Battle against the Army of the Dajjal-Antichrist.”
It was noted that this teaching is a mixture of the ideas of Islam and Christianity, which led to a radical distortion of the fundamental foundations of the Orthodox faith, that is, to a heresy containing three main provisions:
Muslims and Orthodox Christians believe in one God, which implies that this is the same God, consistent with the ideas of Islam.
Muslims and Orthodox Christians believe in the same Jesus Christ, who is God's Messenger.
Muslims and Orthodox Christians believe that Jesus Christ, during His Second Coming, will gather an army of Muslims and Christians against the army of the Antichrist and defeat him. After this, earthly prosperity will come for the faithful of God.
During the report , it was noted that in missionary and pastoral conversation with people under the influence of this error, it is necessary to show its radical incompatibility with the Orthodox faith.”
What is interesting: the priest did not compare Christian and Muslim principles of attitude towards war. And even this is not a complete coincidence.
The Orthodox Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phocas (963–969) wanted to balance the fighting spirit of the imperial soldiers with the fanaticism of the Muslim warriors. To do this, he “planned to pass a law so that those soldiers who died in the war could be canonized only because they died in the war, without taking into account anything else. He forced the Patriarch and the bishops to accept this as a dogma. The patriarch and bishops, bravely resisting, restrained the emperor from this intention, focusing on the canon of Basil the Great, which states that a warrior who killed an enemy in war should be excommunicated for three years from communion” (Leo the Deacon. History. Chapter. Disadvantages of the reign of Nicephorus).
Over the next thousand years, the positions of Orthodox and Muslims on this issue have become closer (see my book “The Holy Wars of the Orthodox World”). And Patriarch Kirill is already loudly promising paradise to all “heroes of the Holy Military Operation.”
Perhaps this is why Orthodox critics of Alaudinov’s book do not touch on the topic of jihad. In the civil religion of Russia they profess, they also have a civil duty to give the wars of Caesar a sacred character and to demonize the enemies of the Leader.
Therefore, priest Fufaev limits his anger to theology. Moreover, his theology is of very dubious quality. All the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church who serve in Muslim countries and regions of the Russian Federation certainly agree with the first two theses, in which he sees heresy.
And in fact: what Islam affirms positively about God cannot cause disagreement among Christians. Islam offers 99 names for God (including the Merciful, the Peacemaker, and the Resurrectionist). And none of them can cause rejection among Christians or Jews. In our conversation, you and I found a mutual friend. I say: “I know Ivan Petrovich well! He is simply the soul of any company, and by the way, an excellent connoisseur of painting.” You say: “Oh yes, that’s true. In addition, I know that Ivan Petrovich is also an absolutely wonderful father for his children.” Are we really talking about different people?
The bishops of the Council of Constantinople in 1180 proposed to proclaim “anathema to the god Muhammad.” But Emperor Manuel I was indignant and rejected this self-confident innovation. Confession of Orthodoxy does not oblige you to blaspheme the faith of others. It seems to you that you know more than others - so be happy about it, and don’t curse.
But in the Alaudinov-Fufaev pair, we still note that in the worst things they are united. Both are ready to bring radical religious assessments to the civil conflict and convince the soldiers that they are not shooting at people, but at demons. This means that the soldiers and their generals have nothing to repent of.