On the eastern edge of Georgia and stretching up along the Caspian sea, the troubled Republic of Dagestan has been largely forgotten. Escalating poverty, hopelessness, and the militant Islamic Shariat Jamaat is driving many of its youth into extremism.
Mixed in the fray are ordinary Salafis who are being targeted as extremists. These individuals, easily spotted by their long beards and Muslim clothes are risking their lives just appearing in public.
People have lost hope long ago in this government steeped in corruption. In the congested capital city of Makhachkala, large construction projects have been abandoned.
The city, nestled on the sea, is also home to a disturbing string of murders. Every month, police are killed and long robed Salafis are being blamed. The Salafis, who practice a “pure” Islam, preach a return of the five pillars of Islam.
The situation of the Salafis is aggravated by the traditional Sufi Muslims who occupy many high-level government and law enforcement positions. According to an openDemocracy article, these Sufi Muslims are bound to follow their sheiks who do not hesitate to suppress their religious rivals – the Salafis. Sheiks are using their connections with Sufi Muslims in the Extremism and Criminal Terrorism Directorate of the Dagestan Interior Ministry to oppress ordinary Sufi Muslims.
Also known as the “sixth department”, the organisation is targeting innocent Sufi Muslims, abducting and torturing them, all in the name of stopping religious extremism.
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