Dagestani Islamic scholars condemn practice of "honour killings"

"Honour killings" have nothing to do with Islam – those who commit such crimes are guided by ancient mountain Adats, Dagestani theologians have noted.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on January 17, a resident of Dagestan was sentenced to 9.5 years in a maximum security colony for killing his half-sister. The convict had stated that the girl did not obey him and did not want to get married. He stabbed her with a kitchen knife.

“Honour killings” are a sort of lynching, which is strictly forbidden in Islam, said Nimatulla Radjabov, the Imam of the “Tangim” Mosque in Makhachkala. According to his story, it’s quite difficult to prove adultery in Islam; testimonies of four witnesses are needed to prove it.

These killings are committed from ignorance of Islamic norms, said Magomedrasul Omarov, the head of the "Fikr" Information and Analytical Centre.

“No one has the right to take the life of another person. This is one of the most serious sins in Islam, and there is no justification for such actions,” he has stated.

Commentators are not made criminally liable for publicly justifying such crimes in social networks, Galina Arapova, the director of the Media Rights Protection Centre, said in her comment to some Instagram users’ statements in support of the convict.