Europe | Repressing Islam in Russia

Salafis mustered

A crackdown drives Dagestan’s Muslims towards Islamic State

May 7th 2016|KHASAVYURT AND MAKHACHKALA

IT WAS prayer time at the Northern Mosque in Khasavyurt, a town in western Dagestan, when troops in black balaclavas arrived one day in February. “They said: ‘This mosque is closing—turn off the lights and hand over the keys’,” recalls one of the congregants. The next day Muhammad Nabi Magomedov, a local imam, led some 5,000 Salafi believers in a march on city hall, chanting “Allahu akbar!” and “Return our mosque!” In early April the security services came for Mr Magomedov, arresting him on terrorism charges.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Salafis mustered”