Paul Goble
Vienna, November 6 – In 1999, Daghestan became the first republic to legally ban Wahhabism, but that step, Khasvyurt Mayor Saygipasha Umakhanov says, had exactly the opposite effect than intended, calling attention to a trend that otherwise might have remained quite marginal.
Indeed, he said this week, it has “at times” seemed to him that “if there had not been a law ‘On Wahhabism,’ this trend in general would not have existed in Daghestan.” Consequently, he said, his republic and by implication any other Russian jurisdiction with similar legislation should repeal such laws (www.riadagestan.ru/news/2009/11/04/88099).
Umakhonov’s call is important for three reasons: First, as he noted, he was among the first to call for the adoption of this law a decade ago fearful that his republic was going to be transformed by Muslim missionaries and Daghestani Muslims ...