Russian Council of Muftis criticizes Grozny fatwa on 'Who Is recognized as true Muslims'.

Russian Council of Muftis criticizes Grozny fatwa on 'Who Is recognized as true Muslims'. (Caucasianknot).

The final document of the Islamic Conference, held in Grozny, should be revised, says the resolution of the Council of Muftis of Russia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Islamic Conference "Who are they – Sunnah followers?" held in Grozny on August 25-27 adopted a fatwa (a punishment resolution), according to which only the followers of the Sufi tariqa (Muslim spiritual way) are recognized as true Muslims.

The fatwa treats supporters of Salafism as dangerous separatists. Well-known religious leaders of Russia and the Arab world have criticized the final documents of the Islamic Conference.

The sitting of the co-chairmen of the Council of Muftis of Russia was held on September 26 at the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, headed by Ravil Gainutdin, the Mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Russia. The resolution of the sitting was posted on the website of the Moscow's SAM on September 27.

According to the resolution of the conference, the agenda assumed a discussion of "the most important and still topical issue regarding the acceptance or rejection of the Grozny fatwa 'Who are they – Sunnah followers?'"


Religious leaders have called it necessary to reconsider and significantly modify its wording, "in view of the fact that it makes a split within the country, as well as among the domestic and foreign Muslim community," says the press release of the SAM. Hmmmm.....A new Schism in the 'Religion of peace' in the make?

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Related: 'Heretics' - World's leading Sunni clerics declare 'Wahhabism is not Sunnism'

"Indeed No Resemblance between Muslims’ Islam, and Saudi Wahhabism". Iran FM Zarif.

"Indeed No Resemblance between Muslims’ Islam, and Saudi Wahhabism". Iran FM Zarif. (IFP).


“Indeed; no resemblance between Islam of Iranians & most Muslims and the bigoted extremism that Wahhabi top cleric & Saudi terror masters preach,” Zarif said in a message posted on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

The remark by the Iranian foreign minister came in response to Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al ash-Sheikh saying that Iranians were not Muslims.

The Wahhabi Mufti made the remarks after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei strongly criticized “murderous” Saudi rulers over last year’s deadly Mina crush, which claimed the lives of over 4,700 pilgrims, including 465 Iranians.

“Several thousand families from different countries lost their loved ones and their nations were bereaved. From the Islamic Republic, close to five hundred people were among the martyrs. The hearts of their families are still broken and bereaved and our people remain grief-stricken and angry,” the Leader said.

“Instead of apology and remorse and judicial prosecution of those who were directly at fault in that horrifying event, Saudi rulers- with utmost shamelessness and insolence- refused to allow the formation of an international Islamic fact-finding committee.”

Video - Lifting the veil - Saudi Arabia Uncovered

With undercover footage and on-the-ground reporting, FRONTLINE reveals a side of Saudi Arabia that's rarely seen, and traces the efforts of men and women who are working to bring about change.            

Last Paris attacks suspect at large Mohamed Abrini arrested in Belgium.

Last Paris attacks suspect at large Mohamed Abrini arrested in Belgium. (RT).

The final suspect at large in the Paris terror attacks, Mohamed Abrini, has been arrested, French police officials have confirmed. VRT reported that he is likely the "man in the hat" who was pictured with the Brussels airport bombers.

The 31-year-old was arrested in the Brussels borough of Anderlecht on Friday.

He is believed to be the "man in the hat" pictured with attackers at Brussels airport last month, just before two bomb blasts rocked the premises, VRT cited various sources as saying.

The "man in the hat" left the airport shortly after the blasts and was tracked on CCTV for several miles, into the city center. Investigators released new video footage of him on Thursday, and urged people to look for his discarded coat.

VRT also said that a suspect by the name of Osama Krayem has been arrested in connection with the bombing of Maalbeek metro station in Brussels.

The Belgian federal prosecutor's office has confirmed that several arrests have been made in relation to the Brussels attacks, but provided no further details.

Abrini has been on Europe's most wanted list since being identified on CCTV video in a car with Salah Abdeslam two days before the Paris attacks. Abdeslam is the prime surviving suspect in the attacks. Hmmm.......Still hiding cozy in Brussels. Read the full story here

Video - Belgian Imams Refuse to Pray for Souls of Non-Muslim Victims of Brussels Attacks.

According to the UAE-based Al-Ghad Al-Arabi TV channel, the council of Belgian imams rejected a recent initiative to pray for the souls of the victims of the Brussels terror attacks on the grounds that praying for non-Muslims ran counter to Islamic law.

In the report, which aired on March 26, Sheikh Abdelhadi Sewif, Chief Imam of the Great Mosque of Brussels, said that one could get around this by avoiding the word "prayer" and calling it a show of solidarity with the families.Hmmmm......Oh by the way "A moment of silence for the victims" was refused as well!

Video - The Terrorist Attacks in Brussels (Belgium) and Islam. David Woods.

Video - Saudi Author Turki Al-Hamad: ISIS Reaps What We Have previously Sown.

In a TV interview, Saudi author Turki Al-Hamad said that there was a need for "a real revolution in our education" and for the "humanization of religion," because "our religion has been hijacked by many and has been made savage." He further said that "ISIS is an organization that only reaps what has previously been sown." Al-Hamad was speaking on Sky News Arabia on November 13, 2015.

Syrian rebels ask Qatari Foreign Minister for independent army in İstanbul.

Syrian rebels ask Qatari Foreign Minister for independent army in İstanbul.(Alalam).

Qatar Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya recently held a round of meetings with Turkish officials in Istanbul In order to gather support over interacting with Syrian opposition and militant groups and their stances regarding the Geneva 2 talks.

Saudi daily al-Sharq al-Awsat wrote in a report on Monday that along with Qatar’s attempts to make a deal with Turkey over its Syria policies, al-Attiye also held meetings with several main Takfiri militant groups fighting to topple the Syrian government.

Militant leaders of active groups from nearly all over Syria, including Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Homs and Hama were present in the meetings with Qatari officials. However, the meeting with Takfiri groups did not include al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and al-Nusra Front.

According to the paper Syria’s Takfiri groups met to decide about parting from the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) and form a new armed force.

The article cites sources among the militant groups saying that their leaders could not get Qatar’s definite support for their decision, instead they saw al-Attiya seeking some changes in the Syrian opposition leadership.

Qatari Foreign minister also met with leader of Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood Mohammad Riad al-Shaqfeh in Istanbul and called for closer ties and more cooperation for toppling Syrian government.

The article says the two-day round of meetings did not end with any consensus because, first, the Takfiri groups wanted more shares in making decisions in the so-called Syrian National Council with represents hundreds of armed groups fighting in Syria. Second, they wanted Qatar to guarantee that they can form a caliphate after the government is removed in Syria.

Al-Attiye told the Takfiri groups that his country is committed to helping them but not to this extent, according to the paper.

These militant groups refuse to take orders from the so-called Free Syrian Army commander Salim Idris, forming only one of the deep divisions the foreign-backed Syrian opposition has been dealing with during the past months.

After months of relative science and less activities regarding Syria which followed replacement of Qatari king by his son, it seems that Cairo is resuming its role as one of the biggest supporters and spenders of the Syria war.

Qatar’s fresh mediations comes as the Syrian opposition on Sunday said it would not take part in Geneva talks aimed at finding a solution to the deadly war which is taking more lives every day with no end in the sight, unless a date is set for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure.

The opposition which has shown signs of deep divisions in the past months is facing with great rivalry power struggles that have left the group unable to adopt a unique stance over major issues.

Tens of militants groups, many of them linked to al-Qaeda, had already rejected the Geneva talks and announced that participating in negotiations was an act of treason.

Opposition’s alliance to al-Qaeda-linked groups and their reluctance to cooperate for ending the war has caused many of their supporters to side with the government.

Saudi journalist: "Religious Terrorism Here to Stay."

Saudi journalist: "Religious Terrorism Here to Stay."(CRA).

In his column for Asharq Alawsat, Mshari Al-Zaydi concludes that religious terrorism is going to be with us for a long time. It will take a serious look within Islamic societies to understand the causes of extremism and to begin the attempt to bring it to rein.

Opinion: We must live with terrorism .By Mshari Al-Zaydi.

Could religious terrorism be eradicated?

Not for the foreseeable future, no. The problem with religious terrorism is that it basically relies on a narrow discourse that negates all other viewpoints. It is a confident dialogue that is also repressive, angry and crazy. Its proponents will not be satisfied until the temple comes down on the heads of all its occupants.

It is a discourse that believes perfection is missing and legitimacy is absent, and that we live temporarily in this immorality. Its followers believe all we should do in life is work on bringing back legitimacy.

It is therefore relatively easy to see an ordinary young man suddenly turn into a suicide bomber without previously being religious or being a member of these groups.

This was the case with a young Saudi man who went by the name of “Sambatik” and who once posted photos on a social network showing off his modern hairstyle and making fun of others. All of a sudden, he said goodbye to his family and went to Syria to fight alongside Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This, of course, would please Bashar Al-Assad and his brother, Maher.

For decades—even before 9/11—waves of religious terrorism have been hitting us.

A new wave starts as soon another ends, which weakens the already weak explanation that these terrorist phenomena are the result of losing political liberties, Western hegemony, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. 

As we said a decade ago—and as we repeat now—these were factors that helped terrorist recruitment, not factors that created terrorism itself.

The creation of a terrorist cannot be stopped without destroying the social and cultural climate that facilitates its creation, and this climate cannot be destroyed without a hard look at ourselves. There is no denial of identity here, no slighting of our culture, but rather a defense of it and those who drive us all to collective suicide.

Russia thwarts plot By followers of Wahhabism to bomb chemical weapons facility.

Russia thwarts plot by followers of Wahhabism to bomb chemical weapons facility.(RT).

Investigators believe the two men were plotting to bomb a chemical weapons storage and destruction facility in Russia’s Kirov Region, 1,000km east of Moscow. The suspects are thought to belong to the fundamentalist Wahhabi Islamist movement.

“The investigation indicates the suspects are followers of Wahhabism and arrived in the Kirov region from Moscow,” said the spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin. He added that the suspects were plotting an attack in a bid to influence the government and international organizations.

Investigators did not specify which organizations, or how the suspected terrorists would attempt to influence them.

Russian authorities raided the abandoned property where the suspects, aged 21 and 19, were residing. The two men were reportedly in possession of "literature with extremist content" and one of them allegedly resisted arrest. Furthermore, investigators found and confiscated the components of a homemade, explosive device on the premises as well as two international passports.

A hideout was also discovered by authorities 500 meters from the Maradykovo facility, along with maps and components to make a bomb.

“After executing the terrorist act the suspects planned to go abroad to an international terrorist training camp to gather the necessary skills to carry out a range of different terrorist activities,” said a press release from the Kirov Federal Security Service Directorate.

The two men are currently in police custody and are awaiting trial on the charges set against them.

Authorities said that their capture averted an attack on the Maradykovo chemical facility that could have claimed hundreds of lives.

Russia is part of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and is currently in the process of destroying its chemical weapons arsenal.

The North Caucasus – where the suspects are believed to be from – is a predominantly Muslim region in the South of Russia. Russian security forces are attempting to weed out extremist groups that have entrenched themselves in the mountainous area. Hmmm.....As-Safir said Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord. “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he allegedly said.