Social media users debated the methods of fighting sorcerers in Chechnya.
The report by the "Grozny" TV channel about the detention of a resident of Urus-Martan, who, according to the authors of the story, provided occult services, caused a controversial reaction among social media users. Some commentators supported the persecution of sorcerers, while others considered the public condemnation of people on the TV channel's air excessive.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 20, a video report was published by the state TV channel "Grozny", in which the chief specialist of the Islamic Medicine Center, Adam Elzhurkaev, publicly rebuked a resident of Urus-Martan, detained by security forces for providing occult services.
The campaign against people who declare themselves healers, psychics, magicians, and sorcerers has been ongoing in Chechnya for many years. It was initially announced by the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, in 2013, then the campaign subsided, but in 2019, the persecution of residents for occultism intensified again .
Commentators were divided in their assessment of the methods of combating occultism
A post about the public condemnation of a resident of Urus-Martan for witchcraft was published in the Instagram*-public chp.grozny_95. As of 08:30 Moscow time on July 22, this post received 482 likes and 495 comments. Some users supported the persecution of sorcerers.
"They should be sent to prison, otherwise they won't stop," believes sotuevsotyj.
"They should be sentenced to five years, so that others think twice," said a comment by muhammad____019.
"They should be sentenced to life, both those who engage in this and those who go to them. Only then will they calm down," believes karima_dok_.
Some commentators called for holding accountable not only the alleged sorcerers but also their clients:
"The customers also need to be punished," stated user yavsegdaveru. "We need to punish those who go to them," believes chabaevalaisa.
"Why aren't you punishing the people who go to them?" asked user imara_05_kama.
Some commentators doubted the appropriateness of public condemnation.
"I don't believe in any divination or witchcraft and never have. The 21st century, what witches? They might even resurrect the Inquisition – it's not far off," wrote blood__and__sand.
"It's scary to imagine the state of their relatives and loved ones. I'm ashamed, as if she were my relative," noted user samemaleljas.
Analysts explained the popularity of healers and fortune-tellers in Chechnya
The popularity of healers and fortune-tellers in Chechnya is due to the residents' distrust of official medicine and the need for psychological support in the context of the harsh policies of the authorities, analysts interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" indicated on July 15.
In their opinion, public persecution of occultists in the republic does not eliminate the demand for their services but only contributes to an increase in interest in them.
The distrust of local residents towards official medicine played a certain role in the popularity of fortune-tellers and healers in Chechnya, noted the administrator of one of the opposition internet resources to the Chechen authorities.
From the perspective of orthodox Islam, the line between permissible treatment through prayers and what the authorities call "witchcraft" is often quite blurred and depends solely on interpretation, noted religious scholar Leonid Syukiyainen.
The activities of the Islamic Medicine Center in Grozny and the persecution of private healers is a classic example of the struggle for monopoly in the market of sacred services under the auspices of the authorities, he believes.
By legalizing the activities of the Islamic Medicine Center, the official clergy seeks to establish strict theological boundaries and monopolize the right to perform exorcisms, cutting off any folk superstitions that contradict dogmas, noted orientalist Dmitry Mikulsky. "This is a conflict not just between two practices, but an attempt by an institutional Islamic structure to cleanse the religious consciousness of the ummah from the remnants of pre-Islamic beliefs," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".