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English Language Page KADYROV AKHMAT-HADJI Head of administration of the Chechen Republic, former mufti of Chechnya. Born in 1951 in Khazakhstan, with the family coming for the village of Tsentoroi of the Kurchaloi district of Chechnya. Comes from a religious family, his father and five uncles are prominent religious figures. Comes from the biggest Chechen (Chechen tribe) Benoi. Is a representative of the most widespread vird (religious brotherhood) of kuntahadji of the Suphi Kadiri Order. In 1980 the district administration of Gudermes sent him to study at the Bukhara Miri-Arab Madrasah, he graduated from it. In Bukhara he studied with the present chairman of the Board of Russian Mufti Ravil Gainutdin. Later Kadyrov graduated from the Islamic Institute in Tashkent. Was deputy imam [spiritual leader] of Gudermes. In 1989 Kadyrov initiated the creation of the Islamic Institute of Northern Caucasus in the village of Kurchaloi (founded in 1991), and headed the institute till 1994. In 1990–1991 Kadyrov studied at the Shariat faculty of the Jordan University. He returned to Chechnya after the declaration of independence by the republic in autumn 1991, where he became an active figure of the religious office (Muftiat) of the Chechen Republic, and the deputy mufti of Chechnya under Arsanukayev. In 1994 Arsanukayev went abroad (for medical treatment), and Kadyrov took up his post. Since 1994 he took part in the war against federal forces on the side of the Chechen fighters. When Arsanukayev refused to back jihad, radical Chechen leaders decided to displace him. The congress of 1995, organized with the participation of the Alims of five highland districts of Chechnya and field commanders Basayev, Yandarbiev and Maskhadov, elected Kadyrov the mufti of Chechnya. There were no other candidates for the post since Kadyrov was the only person who decided to back the idea of jihad. Since he was not a legitimately elected mufti, he was regarded as a sort of “war mufti.” With the support of field commanders he organized an extensive campaign against the mullahs of Arsanukayev’s muftiat. Kadyrov participated in negotiations between Aslan Maskhadov and Alexander Lebed in Novye Atagi in August 1996. In 1996 Kadyrov convened a congress of Alims in Grozny and suggested that they should elect a different mufti (because he regarded himself as a war leader in religion), but Alims elected him again. Kadyrov actively supported Aslan Maskhadov standing for decisive struggle against religious extremists and demanding the ban on Wahhabis. Since 1997 two unsuccessful assassination attempts were directed against him. According to the “Kommersant-Vlast” weekly, he took part in an attempted coup in Chechnya on the wave of anti-Wahhabi feelings in June 1999. The secret meeting which was attended by all the heads of the Ichkeria law enforcement structures elected Kadyrov to be a war amir. According to Shariat, the war amir was to replace the secular president but Magomed Khambiev, the commander of National Guards, and Aidamir Abalayev, the Minister of Internal Affairs, remained loyal to Maskhadov, and the coup failed. Kadyrov denounced the incursions of field commanders Basayev and Hattab into Dagestan and demanded that Maskhadov declare them to be outlaws. In August 1999 Maskhadov’s decree dismissed him from the office of mufti but Kadyrov rejected that decree. In September 1999 he declared his insubordination to the President of Ichkeria and his readiness to support the counter-terrorist operation of federal forces. In October 1999 Kadyrov together with the field commanders brothers Yamadaev declared Gudermes and Kurchaloi districts to be a “territory free from Wahhabis.” Together with Yamadaev brothers Kadyrov played a crucial part in the peaceful transfer of control over Gudermes and most villages of the Gudermes and Kurchaloi districts to Russian forces. In November 1999 the Russian government regarded him as an alternative to Maskhadov in negotiations with the Chechen Republic. On November 30, 1999 the Board of Muftis of Russia asked the government of the Russian Federation to protect the Chechen Mufti who was called an enemy of his nation by Aslan Maskhadov on November 28. On March 15, 2000 Kadyrov stood for the introduction of direct presidential rule in Chechnya which was to last for one or two years, “after which there ought to be elections of the President of the Republic.” As for the future head of the Republic, Kadyrov said that “the leader is to be a Chechen who has been living in Chechnya and lives there now. As for those who watched the events on TV from Moscow, let them go on watching it.” As for his own candidacy, the mufti said without false modesty that he “will take up this job.” “I will take it up for the sake of my people in order to put an end to the outrages.” On June 12, 2000 Kadyrov was appointed the head of the administration of the Chechen Republic. He was going to resign from the post of the mufti in connection with this appointment. Only three out of 18 Chechen districts supported Kadyrov’s appointment. Soon after his appointment the heads of 12 Chechen districts sent an appeal to President V. Putin asking to dismiss Kadyrov. Besides that, the letter claiming that it was impossible for them to cooperate with a former jihad leader was signed by 44 members of the interim Chechen administration. Kadyrov took up his post on June 20, 2000. The ceremony of inauguration was delayed twice (June 16 and 19) as Kadyrov refused to come to Gudermes if his authority was not given to him by Viktor Kazantsev, the representative of the Russian President in the Northern Caucasus, in person. The ceremony took place only on June 20. On August 22, 2000 Kadyrov resigned from the post of the Chechen mufti when Akhmat Shamayev was elected to this post. In September 2000 Kadyrov visited USA where he participated in the work of the World Forum of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. On October 31, 2000 the escort carrying Kadyrov came under shelling from federal forces. In January 2001 he proposed a withdrawal of the forces from Chechnya since the “military phase of the counter-terrorist operation was completed,” and the army complicated the post-war situation. On January 24, 2001 he agreed to head the Board of Directors of the Grozneft oil company. On February 10, 2001 he appointed the government of Chechnya. On February 14, 2001 during his meeting with Kalamanov, Special representative of the Russian President, Kadyrov said, “from now on Chechen authorities are not going to allow independent activity of humanitarian organizations” because some organizations “speculate on the problems of Chechnya, on the blood of its people” (Interfax, February 14, 2001). In March 2001 Kadyrov was against convening the Congress of Chechen people which was initiated by Aslanbek Aslakhaov, the deputy of the State Duma. On April 16, 2001 he signed a decree banning any congresses, meetings, and other mass events “till the situation in the republic is fully stabilized.” Kadyrov’s son Ramazan works as a personal bodyguard of his father; in May 2000 he suffered from shock resulting from assassination attempt, and, on V. Putin’s suggestion, a special flight of the Russian airforce carried him to the Moscow hospital named after Burdenko for examination. On January 18, 2001 there was another attempt on Ramazan Kadyrov’s life. kavkaz.memo.ru Íàçàä |
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