Kadyrov's advisor explains his words about "handsome" Taliban fighters by wisdom

Hanafi Maturidis, to which the Taliban refers, are "handsome guys," said Adam Shakhidov, an adviser on religious affairs to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. He has noted that this is a wise statement that not everyone can understand.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported with reference to experts that the advent of the Taliban* to power in Afghanistan sparked no unambiguous reaction among North-Caucasian Muslims, and does not threaten the region with an increase in extremism.

Mr Shakhidov has answered in the affirmative to a subscriber's question to his post on his Instagram page on whether Taliban militants are "handsome guys"; but then the post was deleted, the "Lenta.ru" reported on August 18. "Hanafi Maturidis are always handsome," the edition has quoted Shakhidov, adding that a screenshot of his statement is at the disposal of the editorial board.

The Shakhidov's post, in which he urged subscribers to understand the position of Ahlu Sunna, was posted in his adam_shakhidov Instagram page on August 15. As of 9:50 p.m. Moscow time on August 18, users left 67 comments to the post. Now, there is no phrase that "Hanafi Maturidis are always handsome guys" in the post, but the user annbroco asks: "Why have you deleted comments in support of the Taliban?"

"I've cancelled nothing. Probably, he who asked the question has deleted it. And my answer was wise: I supported Maturidis and Hanafis. You, provocateurs, can't understand my wisdom," Adam Shakhidov has answered.

"After all, the organization is banned in the Russian Federation, therefore, this is a justification of terrorism," wrote the user annbroco.

"In Russia, they were welcomed as guests; they are not treated as any threat to Russia and Central Asia," Mr Shakhidov has written.

*The Taliban is recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia by the court.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 18, 2021 at 10:31 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.