Caucasian experts assess Tumso's image losses after his words about Kunta-haji Kishiev

The public criticism of religious views of Sufism followers in Chechnya, expressed by the blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, is inappropriate, said Akhmet Yarlykapov, an Islamic scholar. In his turn, Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, believes that the polemic on religious topics will not cause significant damage to the blogger, but some people will get disappointed in him.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Tumso Abdurakhmanov criticized Salakh Mezhiev, the Mufti of Chechnya, for stating that Kunta-haji Kishiev continued preaching Islam in the world. Some YouTube users indicated that the blogger had raised issues of faith that should not be a topic of discussion.

Discussions on such topics are very dangerous, because a significant part of the Chechen identity is based on Sufi beliefs and the belief that Kunta-haji Kishiev has not died, but is hiding somewhere, said Akhmet Yarlykapov, adding that public disputes often turn into insults. In his opinion, the person of Kishiev remains a significant symbol for the Chechen society.

Abdurakhmanov has already lost his audience because of some of his statements, said Tamirlan Akiev, an Ingush human rights defender.

The blogger himself believes that critical opinions are helpful for Chechnya, since the society needs a free discussion on a wide range of issues. At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that he had only repeated the arguments of Sufi followers themselves, in particular, of the revered Dagestani Sufi Said-Afandi of Chirkey.