Who is behind the murder of Sheikh Said Afandi of Chirkey? Who was Said Afandi for the North Caucasus Biography of Said Afandi

This year, 2012, at the very end of summer, on August 28, an attempt was made on Said Afandi al-Chirkawi. The attack took place in the village of Chirkei. Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was the greatest scientist of our time, sheikh of the Shazalian and Naqshbandi tariqas. Said Afandi al-Chirkawi became a martyr and moved to Akhirat as a Muslim, may Allah give him an easy grave!

The venerable sheikh was born in 1937 in the same village of Chirkey in which he was attacked. He was born in the village of Abdurrahman.

The time of his birth was a time of thickening clouds over the entire Muslim world, and Islam in particular. The enemies of religion destroyed hundreds and thousands of scholars of Islam; during that period, Muhammad Yasubi and Hasan Afandi were killed. And it was during this period that, by the command of Allah, Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was born.

From the words of the storytellers, we know that his birth occurred on the night when the fate of a person is determined. On this very great night, the future sheikh of two madhhabs, Said Afandi al-Chirkawi, was born. And, by the will of Allah Almighty, many murids found true happiness from just communicating with him.

On the occasion of the birth of his son, Said’s father read “Ya-sin” three times, after which he turned to Allaz with a request that the boy walk confidently and firmly along the path of Islam, asked Him for Said to become a Scientist and teach the new generation Islam, and did not allow the light of the True Religion to fade in this dark time for it.

And that night Father Said’s prayer was accepted.

The mother of the future sheikh, Aisha later spoke more than once about the strange dreams that visited her while she was carrying her son in the womb. She dreamed that he, along with the cradle, was flying into the sky, and from there he was watching the cities that looked like giant anthills. In addition, after the birth of Said Afandi al-Chirkawi, he said that the birth process itself was completely painless for her.

Said's father, putting his son in the cradle, read Surah Al-Fatihah in his ear. The son listened to him most attentively, looking his father in the eyes. His father noticed his good character, which began to manifest itself from the very first months of his life, and therefore often said that his son would grow up to be a good person.

And indeed, since childhood, Said had wise, special dreams. Said was very peaceful, calm and patient from an early age. Even the most cocky of cocky guys were afraid to quarrel with him. He did not arouse malice or anger in anyone.

One day, on one of the streets of his village, he was met by women returning from the collective farm garden. They offered him a bunch of grapes, but Said Afandi al-Chirkawi unexpectedly refused it. Later, when asked why he did not take a handful of grapes, Said replied that it would have been haram.

And one day, when he returned from Gelbakh, where he had gone to buy wheat, he took off his shoes and saw in them several grains that had gotten there by accident. As soon as he noticed them, he immediately began to prepare for the return journey, despite the fact that it was night outside and the path was very long. His family barely restrained him from this act.

Throughout his life, Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was respectful to his elders, and treated the younger ones with affection and kindness. He did not like arguments that could subsequently lead to conflict, and always gave in to a person even if he himself was right.

Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was always a modest and honorable man. He was a stranger to fame. Also, if he gave his word to someone, he kept it to the last, without breaking his promise under any circumstances.

His father had a great desire to give his son an education in the field of Islam, however, by the will of Allah Almighty, he suddenly died, becoming mortally ill. This happened when Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was only seven years old. This happened on the very day and hour when Said, while reading the Koran, reached “Ya-sin” - the very sura that his father read three times in honor of his birth.

The boy was left an orphan, but he still read the Koran to the very end - mainly thanks to the persistence and support of his mother, Aisha. When he graduated from seven classes, he tended flocks of rural sheep in order to somehow be able to provide for his family. Later, four years later, he was drafted into the army, where he was appointed as an operator in the air defense forces. He served for three long years, but throughout all the years he did not miss a single prayer, and kept all the required fasts for the month of Ramadan. When Said finished his military service, he returned to his native village, where he worked as a shepherd and took flocks of sheep to the mountains. But even there, no matter what the weather was, he took Taharat, read the azan, and performed prayer.

There were many amazing things in his life. But the most amazing thing was his faith - strong, like January ice and indestructible, like a rock. He was very consistent in following the True Path, which was destined for him by Allah.

Remembering his father’s desire to see him as an enlightened person, he suffered greatly, realizing that he had not lived up to his hopes. Whenever his soul was seized by a thirst for knowledge, he wept bitterly, standing in front of his flock. He asked, he prayed to Allah to grant him the opportunity to study religious knowledge, but the need to support his family and a severe lack of funds forced him to continue working as a shepherd and herding sheep. However, closer to thirty, he still managed to leave this job forever and continue his studies. And during this same period, something happened that played a decisive role in his fate - he entered the Shazili tariqa.

The scholars of Islam, despite the dangerous times for Islam, taught him religious sciences. At this time, Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was a mature man, and therefore, competently overcoming all the difficulties that arose, he successfully moved forward, comprehending the religious sciences one after another. From Allah he was granted such qualities as: a high level of receptivity, a shrewd and sharp mind, and excellent memory. Every book he studied, he subsequently knew as well as if he had written it himself.

Many murshids had already seen his fate. Abdul-Hamid-Afandi, a Tariqat sheikh, once asked murid Muhammad Haji, the son of Shamkhal: “On the outskirts of your village there is a house, a blessed orphan lives in it. Is he healthy, how is he doing?” He asked many Chirkey people about this. And so it was - the house of Said Afandi al-Chirkawi standing on the very outskirts of the village. Muhammad Arif-afandi often informed the murids who were near him: “The hair of the prophet is kept in Chirkei, my children. One day the day will come when this will become clear to everyone.”

The good nature of Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was one of his best qualities. He never refused his help to anyone. He was a meek and patient man. It happened more than once that even while building his own house, he left in order to solve someone else’s problem, leaving the already diluted solution to dry.

Together with his fellow villager Abdurrahman, he once came to Nechaevka to the mouth of Muhammad Afandi. And the teacher said to him: “My son, Said! My strength is leaving me. I spent a lot of time thinking about who I should make my successor. Your knowledge and deeds have reached perfection, I know this. And now you are my successor, I transfer my affairs to you.” Sweat appeared on Said Afandi al-Chirkawi's forehead and his eyes filled with tears. He began to ask his ustaz not to entrust this responsible task to him. But he didn’t even want to hear about anything like that, and remained adamant. He told Said that mentoring is not given at personal request, nor is it taken back if a person does not want to mentor. This is where it all ended. Said was given the seal of mentorship, along with it a robe, which was passed from ustaz to ustaz.

There were many amazing things in the life of Said Afandi al-Chirkawi! But still, it is his constancy in following the True Path that is his greatest and greatest miracle. A huge number of murids came to him for advice. He solved a huge number of different problems, but no one ever saw Said Afandi al-Chirkawi say a word that would contradict the tariqa and sharia.

His deep knowledge is evidenced by the books that he wrote in a very short time. The fact that he completed only seven classes and spent most of his life in the pasture did not prevent him from writing four books in which he gives Sharia conclusions in poetic form and describes the history of the prophets and religion. To be more precise, he wrote three books in poetic form, the fourth was written by him in ordinary form. He also wrote a fifth book, which is currently just being prepared for publication.

This number of works testifies to the extent of his religious Knowledge.

The most significant and, in terms of possible military and political consequences, murder of a religious figure in all post-Soviet years took place in Dagestan.

“A woman entered the sheikh’s house. She was young, beautiful and pregnant, so the guards did not search her. Going inside, she sat down opposite the sheikh.

“I’m Russian, I want to convert to Islam,” the woman said calmly.

Well, very good,” replied the sheikh. At that moment an explosion occurred.

The fashionable but modest dress did not hide the unborn child, but the suicide bomber’s belt. 7 people died: the 75-year-old sheikh himself, his 57-year-old wife, students, among those killed was a 12-year-old boy who came to the clergyman’s house with his parents. Several other parishioners were injured in the explosion. They were taken to the hospital. The suicide bomber was an adult woman." Subsequently, the name of the killer was reported - this is a resident of Makhachkala, Aminat Kurbanova, nee Alla Saprykina. Russian, converted to Islam, widow of three Mujahideen.

We are talking about the death at about 16:50 Moscow time. time on August 28, 2012, Sheikh Said Afandi of Chirkey - the most influential Sufi sheikh in the Caucasus, ustaz of the Naqshbandi and Shazalia tariqats.

The significance of this murder for Dagestan and Muslims of the Caucasus in general, both Northern and Southern, can be compared with the significance of the assassination of the Pope for Christian Europe. Not the modern Pope. And the Popes of the sixteenth century, the era of the Reformation. When the head of the Roman Catholic Church had real political and economic power, and Western Christendom itself was split by confessional war. And for some, the Pontiff was the viceroy of God on Earth, and for others, he was a heretic and the vicegerent of Hell.

Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi or Chirkeysky (passport name Said Abdurakhmanovich Atsaev) was an Avar by nationality (this is the most numerous people of modern Dagestan). Born and lived in the village. Chirkei, Buinaksky district. He was orphaned at seven years old, from the 7th grade he worked as a shepherd, after the army as a fireman, at the age of 32 he began to thoroughly study the tariqa and become acquainted with the works of leading Sufi sheikhs. He received Ijaza (the right to have his own murid students) in the early 1980s. from Meseyasul Muhammad al-Khuchadi from the village. Nechaevka, Kizilyurt district. Soon the sheikh acquired phenomenal influence. According to Islamic experts, his knowledge of Arabic was mediocre, but he wrote poems and articles in Avar. According to experts, his works testify to his outstanding literary talent.

By the early 90s, he became the most authoritative spiritual leader of Dagestan. The main and still unreflected achievement of the deceased is that he managed to conclude an unspoken “Islamic concordat” with the authorities of the republic, practically take control of the entire religious life of Dagestan and exert great influence on secular politics.

The apparatus of formally secular Russian Dagestan began to be used to disseminate the ideas, influence and principles of the Nashkbadiyya and Shaziliyya tariqats, which the sheikh represented. In Chechnya, the same process was openly started in the interests of the Qadiriyya tariqa by the hereditary sheikh of Qadiriyya, Akhmad Kadyrov (and then continued by members of his family, the most publicly known of whom is Ramzan Kadyrov).

Quite quickly, secular Chechnya managed to turn into a state of political Islam under the Qadiriya tariqa.

But in Dagestan, for some reason, this process did not go so smoothly. Said-Afandi managed to subordinate both the secular power and the rest of the Sufi sheikhs to his influence, however, the “Sufiization” of Dagestan ran into resistance from a noticeable part of Muslims who did not accept Sufism, some for theoretical and theological reasons, some because of its social practice, which in post-Soviet conditions accepted sometimes ugly forms. They united around a competing project - salafiyya, “pure Islam”, or, as it is commonly called in Russia, Wahhabism. A real civil war broke out between them, in which one side – the Sufis – enjoyed the support of the Russian state.

The sheikh held no formal positions. However, in reality, from the first half of the 1990s, he controlled the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Dagestan (DUMRD), where all significant positions were occupied by his murids. This is one of the important centers of power, through which large financial resources pass (the total profit from the organization of the big Hajj alone reaches 10-15 million dollars annually). The sheikh influenced the government of the republic; the number of his murids (direct students who are in constant contact with the teacher and unquestioningly follow his instructions in any sphere - both spiritual and secular) ten years ago totaled 10 thousand, today, according to various estimates, from 20 to 30 thousand people. Among these murids there are high-ranking officials, security officials and large entrepreneurs. And not only in Dagestan and other regions of the Russian Federation, but also in Azerbaijan. The sheikh's murid was, for example, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, Adilgerey Magomedtagirov, who was shot in June 2009. The head of the republic, Magomedsalam Magomedov, and other leaders went to the sheikh’s house for advice. And for probably half of the practicing and not so Muslims of Dagestan - non-Wahhabis, he was simply a spiritual leader and authority.

The sheikh was buried in accordance with the canons of Islam on the day of his death before sunset. Over 100 thousand people came to the cemetery in his ancestral village of Chirkey, Bainaksky district (the population of Dagestan is just under 3 million).

It is already clear that the murder will have the most serious consequences.

But exactly what kind, how much and what kind of blood will be shed now - the answer to this question depends on another answer: Who did it? This is the main question today.

The President, the People's Assembly and the government of the Republic of Dagestan made a statement in which they clearly hint at the “Wahhabis”: “It is precisely such people that the ideologists of terrorism are mortally afraid of, who are trying to replace true spiritual values ​​with the propaganda of false and misanthropic ideas.”

Four hours after the murder, an emergency meeting of the Republic's Security Council was held under the leadership of Dagestan President Magomedsalam Magomedov.

At it, M. Magomedov proposed organizing self-defense units to punish “these bandits,” by which, obviously, the “Wahhabis” were meant: “I think that today we will make a decision in every city, in every district, to organize self-defense units, squads from young people who are ready, under the leadership and together with the internal affairs bodies, to work to ensure security and punish these bandits and terrorists. This is an instruction to all city and district leaders. We must do everything that is necessary for this – organizationally and financially. We must find the money and everything necessary for this,” the president said.

The authorities are clearly seeking to benefit from this terrorist attack. The creation of “squads,” in essence, is the creation of a new power structure, and a very serious structure, deployed “in all cities and districts,” which, apparently, will be personally subordinate to the president. How will it be able to help in the fight against the clandestine urban underground and against the forest partisan detachments, against which all the country's special services, together with the regular army, are unsuccessfully fighting? No way. But its usefulness is obvious as an instrument of influence on the masses of the population and the personal power resource of the current president. The question of who Magomedsalam Magomedalievich Magomedov is going to use it against is certainly interesting, but deserves separate consideration.

So the very first answer to the question “Who?” seems to suggest itself:

A). Dagestan local government. Very quickly, already four hours after the explosion, the authorities began to work out the terrorist attack. (The Sheikh was killed either at 16:30 or 16:50, different official reports give different figures, and the Emergency Security Council meeting began at approximately 21).

However, I think that it should still be ruled out, the probability of this scenario, like the probability of others versions from the same circle:

b). An attempt to bait the current president.

V). The struggle for the distribution of money for the Hajj.

– close to zero

I agree with Konstantin Kazenin: “The murder of Said Effendi will certainly lead to attempts to provoke a serious confrontation along this line, that is, to involve thousands and thousands of believers in turmoil. Considering the growing social role of Islam in Dagestan, such a result would be disastrous for the region as a whole.

At first glance, the beneficiaries of this development of events will be the opponents and competitors of the current head of Dagestan. But I wouldn’t look for customers among them: it’s very difficult to imagine that any of them would want to lead the region if we first manage to launch the scenario just described in it.”

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G).Foreign intelligence services: Israel - USA - England - KSA - Pakistan - Turkey - Georgia, these are the main candidates. I also consider the likelihood of this version to be close to zero. Firstly, because none of them are interested in blowing up the region. Secondly, because they are unlikely to have the operational capabilities to carry out such an operation without the risk that their Russian colleagues will present irrefutable evidence of their participation, with all the ensuing diplomatic and personnel consequences. No government will take such a risk. Iran not on this list, we will talk about it separately.

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d). "Forest"

At first glance, this is precisely what seems most likely, and this is what the authorities are already voicing.

As I said above, the President of Dagestan pointed to the “Wahhabis” four hours after the terrorist attack, when he could not yet have any investigation data.

The next day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan declared that the culprits were “ideologists of terrorism” and “extremists” who were “mortally afraid” of the deceased.

The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, a body, although unconstitutional and with an unclear status, but close to the current government, represented by its “OP Working Group on the Development of Public Dialogue and Civil Society Institutions in the Caucasus” (led by Maxim Shevchenko), already on the day of the terrorist attack accused his organization, the leadership of the Caucasus Emirate: “Those who sent the “live bomb” are most likely the bandit – Doku Umarov.”

Indeed, the sheikh was the main ideological opponent of the “Wahhabis,” and many security forces and officials who fought with them were murids or admirers of Said Afandi.

However, upon closer examination, this version has significant disadvantages.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is clearly disingenuous when it says that the “Wahhabis” were “mortally afraid” of the murdered man. Since the end of 2010, a process of national dialogue has been going on in Dagestan between two warring Islamic movements, one of the initiators and pillars of which was the blown up sheikh.

The negotiation process has recently been clearly approaching success; the media controlled by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Dagestan (and, therefore, Said-Afandi) have reduced the intensity of anti-Wahhabi rhetoric. The legal wing of the Salafis has not only been completely legalized and does not encounter obstacles in its activities, but has been included in the ruling establishment. One of its leaders, Abbas Kebedov (brother of the wanted founder and leader of the Dagestan Salafi region Bagaudin Kebedov) received official status, now he is a member of the Public Chamber of the Republic of Dagestan, a member of the Commission for assistance in adapting to peaceful life to persons who have decided to stop terrorist and extremist activities in territory of the Republic of Dagestan.

All this was, of course, beneficial to the Salafis, because... allowed them to carry out unhindered propaganda of their version of Islam. In neighboring Chechnya, salafiy in any form is simply prohibited. And in Dagestan, Salafism began the process of penetrating power in order to use at least part of the power of the state apparatus in its own interests. Sufism, exhausted by many years of war of destruction, decided to “share” power.

On the other hand, it is obvious to everyone that if the “forest”, the military wing of the Salafis, were really guilty of this murder, an all-out attack on them would be inevitable. At the same time, the authorities will receive unprecedented support from the population of Dagestan. Not only will absolutely all followers and sympathizers of “traditional Islam”, i.e. Sufism, a significant part of the “non-aligned”, but also a certain part of supporters of Wahhabism. “Wahhabism” is not ready for such an all-out offensive, and it does not need it.

Abbas Kebedov and the Ahl Sunna organization, which unites Salafi religious figures, published sympathetic condolences.

None of the representatives of the Wahhabi region took responsibility for the terrorist attack.

The Emirate’s websites, including Kavkaz-Center, limited themselves to information about the terrorist attack, taken from Russian sources, in moderate tones.

“The official website of the Vilayat of Dagestan VDagestan.com” published on August 28, 2012 “Statement of the site’s editors regarding the murder of Said Afandi”:

“We urge Muslims, as well as the entire public, not to make hasty conclusions about who is the initiator and who is really behind the explosion in Chirkei and the murder of Said Afandi. We have no information that the Mujahideen are claiming responsibility for these events.

We want to emphasize that Jihad has been going on in Dagestan for more than 12 years, and all this time the Mujahideen have not made a single attempt on Said Afandi, although all this time they could easily have killed him.”

However, all of the above does not yet serve as proof of the non-involvement of the “Wahhabis”.

The editors of VDagestan.com are located abroad and at the time of publication of the statement clearly had no connection with the militants operating in the Caucasus.

The “legal Salafiyya” cannot order anything to the “illegal” one. It is quite possible that the militants had their own point of view on the negotiation process with “traditional Islam” and on the role of Sheikh Chirkeysky in it. The fact that the military wing is more radical than the legal wing is a commonplace in the history of a wide variety of partisan movements. Moreover, reconciliation with the Sufis was forced in any case; in “traditional Islam” and personally in the sheikh, the Salafis continued to see both their ideological opponent and a person largely responsible for the repressions carried out against them.

Three weeks before the terrorist attack, on August 6, 2012, the Amir of the Caucasus Emirate, Dokku Abu Usman (Dokku Umarov), appointed a new commander of the Dagestan Front of the Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate, the Amir of Dagestan, Abu Muhammad. Perhaps this operation is his “assuming office.” The intelligence services, through the Kommersant newspaper, threw this version into the press: “As Kommersant learned, the former emir of the Kadar bandit group, Rustam Aselderov, is suspected of organizing the explosion, the victim of which was the most famous theologian in Dagestan, Sheikh Said Afandi Chirkeysky. Noting his appointment as the leader of the North Caucasian militants, Doku Umarov, as Amir of the Dagestan Vilayat, he sent a suicide bomber, 30-year-old Aminat Saprykina, to the sheikh.”

In general, among the operational leadership of the Mujahideen in the Caucasus there are few good tacticians, and after the murder of Anzor Astemirov there are no good strategists left at all. But there are plenty of stubborn and politically short-sighted dogmatists.

Finally, the order for destruction could have been given, even over the head of Dokku Umarov, by Al-Qaeda. She may have considered that the brightly burning hotbed of war in the Caucasus was more consistent with today's goals of the "World Jihad".

The only authority that could clarify things is the “Command of the Dagestan Front of the Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate” located in the Caucasus, but it is still silent.

However, for some reason, Dagestan militants, unlike other “fronts,” do not always publish a complete list of their actions.

This silence may also be caused by the fact that after the operation, all its possible consequences were explained to the “forest”. And the command of the militants decided not to take responsibility, which is quite in keeping with the customs of “global jihad.”

The personality of the suicide bomber also speaks in favor of the responsibility of the “forest people”. The first husband of Alla-Aminat Saprykina-Kurbanova was Marat Kurbanov, Emir of Makhachkala. Having become an adherent of Wahhabism, she was married four times, all of her husbands occupied important positions in the region, three were eliminated by the security forces. She herself was involved in the recruitment and training of suicide bombers.

That is, the terrorist attack was committed not by a lone newcomer, but by a person from the leadership of Podillya and, therefore, was sanctioned by him.

However, this evidence has one flaw.

The death of Saprykina was already reported on May 5, 2012. Then a police post was blown up in Makhachkala, and “according to the preliminary version, suicide bomber Muslimat Aliyeva and recruiter Kurbanova were killed in the car.” Another report about the explosion in Makhachkala in early May, however, said that "The identity of their recruiter Aminat Kurbanova has not yet been confirmed." However, there was no denial of the death of Saprykina-Kurbanova. Most likely, the authorities simply did not bother to do this. Now the message is that “ The woman who committed a suicide bombing in the house of Sheikh Said-Apandi has been officially identified as 30-year-old Kurbanova (Saprykina) Aminat Andreevna,” appeared on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan.

It seems that the incident is over. But, as they say, “a sediment remains,” and it is impossible to be completely sure that it was Saprykina-Kurbanova who blew up the sheikh.

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Russian authorities. No matter how terrible it sounds, in the modern Russian Federation such an assumption does not seem absurd. On the contrary, I think that most of the residents of Dagestan share precisely this view of what happened. Moreover, the government is not united; different groups pursue different policies. This may not be a decision from Moscow at all, but from Pyatigorsk (unlikely) or Rostov (more likely). “Moscow” as a center of power is also not united.

1). Those who did this profess the theory of “managed crisis.”

2). They are afraid that United Dagestan will overthrow Russian power.

3). It is believed that if the civil war in Dagestan weakens, the Mujahideen will seriously take on the federals directly in Dagestan and in other regions of the North Caucasus. Now the overwhelming majority of victims are “local”, whom the center “does not feel very sorry for.” But if the militants move to central Russia, then, according to these people, the worst will happen. Tatarstan amplified these fears and pushed for “active measures.”

The following glaring fact attracts attention: Recently, almost all those prominent representatives who advocated reconciliation between “Wahhabis” and “Sufis” have been killed - both from the side of “traditional Islam” and from the Salafis. Sheikh Murtazali Daghistani, mufti, prof. Maksud-haji Sadikov, Sufi sheikh Siradjudin Khuriksky, Mufti Ismail Bostanov (Islamic Institute, Karachay-Cherkessia), imam of the central mosque of Buinaksk Gitinomagomed Abdulgapurov...

Sheikh Said Afandi, as already mentioned, has recently restrained his murids from clashes with the “forest”.

Most likely, these murders “fit into the system, and behind them are those who want to destabilize the situation, and who have now decided that it’s enough to just “rock the boat” - it’s time to turn it over.

It is noteworthy that according to the Kommersant newspaper, which published, with reference to a “source in law enforcement agencies,” exclusive information about the terrorist attack: “The power structures of Dagestan are already saying that numerous murids (disciples) of the late sheikh can be assigned to self-defense units, which are already ready to take up arms to avenge the death of their spiritual leader».

The question of how the sheikh’s murids, united in self-defense units, will be able to find the organizers of the terrorist attack, whom the best forces of all the country’s intelligence services are unsuccessfully looking for, was not disclosed by the “law enforcement source.” Like the question of who exactly these “numerous” detachments are going to take revenge on. After all, it is obvious that the victims of vengeance from “numerous detachments” must also be numerous.

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h).Iran.

In recent years, there has been an ever-increasing penetration of Iran into the North Caucasus. “Shiite expansion, behind which Iran stands, is growing in the southern and other regions of Dagestan. “I have received information that Iran is trying to strengthen Shiite positions in Dagestan: it imports literature by truckload, maintains close ties with local politicians, buys land in the coastal strip and is already, as it were, stepping outside the traditional habitat of Shiism in the south of Dagestan,” he said in an interview “ Echo of the Caucasus” local expert Ruslan Kurbanov.

Last year, 1,000 people from Dagestan received free training in the main Shiite center - the city of Qom in Iran, and the same thing is happening this year.

At the same time, the spread of Sunnism is being blocked in Azerbaijan.

It is professed by the Dagestanis living there, but the situation of the Sunnis is quite difficult. Sheikh Said Afandi has been declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan for many years. A large number of its murids live in Zagatala and Belokany located on the territory of Azerbaijan.

The North Caucasus is seen as a lost, but in need of return, sphere of influence of Shiism. Dagestan came into the sphere of political influence of Safavid Persia at the beginning of the 16th century. In 1606, Shah Abbas I occupied Derbent, and from that time on, continuous conquests of the Shiites began in the depths of Dagestan. The main thing is that it is strategically important for Iran to gain a foothold in the North Caucasus in the perspective of the Shiite-Sunni war flaring up more and more on a global scale and the approaching End of Days.

Iranian activity encounters organized resistance in Dagestan from both Sufis and Wahhabis. On August 18, in Khasavyurt, parishioners of a Shiite mosque were attacked with machine guns, one was killed and eight were wounded.

So in peaceful Dagestan the chances of spreading the influence of Shiism are small. It’s a different matter in Dagestan, which is burning...

I would estimate the probability of these versions as follows:

50% – Russian authorities; 40% - forest (either a purely local initiative, or an order from Al-Qaeda); 10% – Iran.

In any case, Dagestan faces a period of increasing instability.

Among other things, this will lead to increased emigration of Dagestanis to Russia and increased interethnic tension there.

“Will the day really come when the Angel of Death will come for Dagestan”? – one of the spiritual leaders of the republic exclaimed a couple of years ago, saying that in recent years, as a result of the armed struggle of “Wahhabis” and “tarikatists,” about three thousand Dagestanis have died.

In the short time that has passed, the number of those killed has probably increased by another thousand.

Perhaps this day came on August 28, 2012 at 16:30 in the village of Chirkey, Buinaksky district. The angel of death came for Dagestan.

Said Abdurakhmanovich Atsaev, better known as Said-afandi Chirkeysky (Avar. ChikIasa SagIid afandi; October 21, 1937, Chirkey, Buinaksky district, DASSR, RSFSR, USSR - August 28, 2012, Chirkey, Buinaksky district, Dagestan, Russia) - Sufi sheikh of Naqshbandi and the Shazali tariqat, since the early 1980s, one of the spiritual leaders of the Muslims of Dagestan, Shafiite, Ashari.

On Tuesday, August 28, a woman entered his house under the guise of a pilgrim, who did not arouse suspicion among the guards. She came almost close to the sheikh and detonated the explosive device attached to her.

The suicide bomber's head was torn off by the explosion, but law enforcement agencies quickly established her identity. The terrorist turned out to be the so-called “black widow” Aminat Kurbanova, née Alla Saprykina, born in 1982. She married a Wahhabi Muslim and converted to Islam herself. In 2012, her husband was killed during a special operation.

Kurbanova has been wanted since spring. According to operational data, she was part of a group of five suicide bombers trained to carry out terrorist attacks. Two women were detained on the eve of the May Day holidays in North Ossetia. And on May 3, in the suburbs of Makhachkala, the Aliyev brother and sister, 23 and 19 years old, respectively, blew themselves up at a checkpoint. 12 people were killed, more than a hundred were injured.

After the terrorist attack in Makhachkala, suggestions arose that Kurbanova herself was not a suicide bomber, but was only involved in recruiting terrorists. Suggestions arose that she herself accidentally died during the Aliyevs’ suicide bombing. In addition, in May, field commander Huseyn Mamaev, who was considered the organizer of the terrorist attack and whose group allegedly trained suicide bombers, was killed. Perhaps all this together calmed the intelligence services and the intensity of the search for Kurbanova decreased.

The murder of Said Chirkeysky became the most resonant attempt on the life of a religious figure in Dagestan. Although Muslim clergy in the republic quite often become victims of extremists, attacks on spiritual leaders of such a scale have never happened before. Said of Chirkey was a spiritual leader whose opinion was listened to by believers. Among his murids are many large businessmen and influential officials. Said Afandi did not hold any official positions, but his murid is the mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Dagestan.

The biography of Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was quite ordinary up to a certain point. He studied at a Soviet school, worked as a shepherd on a collective farm, served in the army, and was a firefighter at the Chirkey hydroelectric power station. However, at the age of 32, he quit his job and devoted himself entirely to the study of the Koran and the works of spiritual mentors. Having completed only 7 classes, he read a lot of literature and wrote his works on theology in verse, arousing the admiration of those who read them, including Rasul Gamzatov. Over time, the sheikh became the head of two Sufi tariqats, Naqshbandi and Shaziliyya, which form the basis of the traditional movement of Islam in Dagestan. Another tariqa, the Qadiriyya, has become widespread in neighboring Chechnya. Since the sheikh has not officially appointed a successor, the continuity of spiritual power is now interrupted.

Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi, who died a martyr's death, attempted to establish a dialogue with the leaders of the Salafi communities in order to prevent their further radicalization. He categorically condemned from theological positions those who commit crimes in the name of faith.

In recent years, extremists have attacked traditional Islam on all fronts. In Dagestan, in October 2011, another Sufi sheikh, Sirazhutdin Khuriksky, who enjoyed the greatest influence in the south of Dagestan, was shot dead. In the same row are the murders of the Mufti of Kabardino-Balkaria Anas Pshikhachev, the Deputy Mufti of Stavropol Kurman Ismailov, the rector of the Dagestan Institute of Theology Maksud Sadikov and the assassination attempt on the Mufti of Tatarstan Ildus Fayzov.

The death of Said Chirkeysky caused a real shock in Dagestan. Almost one hundred thousand people from all over the republic came to say goodbye to the sheikh. They are shocked and outraged by the murder of their beloved spiritual mentor. The head of the republic, Magomedsalam Magomedov, convened an emergency meeting of the Security Council, at which he demanded that law enforcement agencies find and destroy the organizers of the terrorist attack. An unprecedented decision was also made to create self-defense units of young people in cities and regions who would fight the Wahhabi underground.

“The murder of Sheikh Said Afandi Chirkeysky is another inhuman and cynical crime against the spiritual authorities of our society, courageous and extraordinary individuals, who today are moral guidelines for all Dagestanis,” says the statement of the leadership of the republic. “It is precisely such people that the ideologists of terrorism are mortally afraid of.” who are trying to replace true spiritual values ​​with the propaganda of false and misanthropic ideas.”

“Sheikh Said Afandi of Chirkey enjoyed unquestioned authority in the republic and beyond its borders,” the statement notes. “For many years, his wise word served the spiritual enlightenment of society, directed the path of peace and harmony, and instructed young people to follow the highest moral values ​​of Islam, Dagestan culture, and the humanistic traditions of our peoples. They believed in him, trusted him, thousands of people followed his advice and teaching.” Sheikh Said Afandi “stood firmly in the positions of mercy, kindness, non-violence, condemned radicalism in his views and actions, and openly opposed extremism and terrorism.”

The authorities of Dagestan emphasized that “all necessary measures will be taken to ensure that the criminals get what they deserve.” “Criminals will not be able to split Dagestan, destroy our unity, sow fear and hatred on Dagestan soil, where for centuries representatives of different peoples, religions, and cultures have coexisted peacefully. The authoritative word of the spiritual leaders of Dagestan will live on in the deeds of their many followers,” the statement says.

The real name of the alim is Said Abdurakhmanovich Atsayev. He was born on October 21, 1937 in the village of Chirkey, Buinaksky district of Dagestan. According to some reports, the boy was born on that great night when a person’s fate is determined. Said's father read Surah Yasin three times and turned to the Almighty with a dua so that his son would firmly follow the path of Islam and never deviate from it. The father asked Allah for the boy to become a scientist,

who would teach the basics of Islamic faith to a new generation. And this was in those years when any religion in the young Soviet Republic was under the strictest ban.

Often the father read Surah al-Fatihah to the baby before going to bed, and the son listened carefully to the sounds of the Koran.

Said's kind and gentle disposition was evident from the very first days of his life. The boy grew up surprisingly calm, intelligent and patient. He never caused discontent or anger from adults or peers. The most cocky guys were careful not to quarrel with him or enter into conflicts. Even as a child, Said had special, wise dreams. His father said that he would grow up to be a special person. But, unfortunately, the man could not see what his son would become. At the age of seven, Said Afandi lost his father.

It was not easy for the boy to survive this blow of fate. Despite the difficulties, with the persistence of his mother, Said completed the reading of the Koran that had begun by that time. After finishing seven years of school, the young man begins to graze rural flocks of sheep in order to earn money and help his mother.

Four years later he was drafted into the army. During his service in Kaunas, he fulfilled all the requirements of Islam: he performed five daily prayers, kept fasts, and avoided haram food and actions. This continued throughout his three years of military service during the atheistic Soviet era.

Returning home from service, Said-afandi continued to work as a shepherd in the village. He took flocks of sheep to the mountains and there, in any weather - blizzard, snow, rain or wind - each time he performed ablution and himself said the azan, after which he read the prayer. Then he worked on the construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station after the earthquake in 1970.

During all these years, Said Afandi constantly remembered his father’s desire to see him as a keeper of Islamic knowledge. He constantly asked the Almighty to grant him the opportunity to study and comprehend the beautiful foundations of religion. However, responsibility to the family and financial difficulties did not allow the dream to come true.

At the age of 32, the future alim leaves his position in the fire department and begins to study Islamic sciences, the works of Muslim scientists and Sufi sheikhs. He enters the path of the Shazil tariqa. Sheikh Said Afandi considered Abdulhamid Afandi to be his first spiritual mentor (ustaz).

Overcoming difficulties and thanks to the abilities bestowed by the Almighty, the young alim successfully walked towards his goal. He eagerly comprehended all the religious sciences available to him. Thanks to his sharp and insightful mind, receptivity, and excellent memory, he knew any book he studied as if he himself were its author.

In recent years, Said Afandi has been conducting spiritual and educational activities. He often spoke in the press, gave interviews, wrote books, articles and poems. His works have been translated into many languages, including English and Russian. For example, these are the books “History of the Prophets” and “Treasury of Graceful Knowledge,” which have become the most widely read.

There are many surprising things in the life of Said Afandi al-Chirkawi. However, his greatest miracle was istiqama - constancy in following the path of Truth, which was ordained by Allah.

On August 28, 2012, the media reported the death of Said Afandi. In the evening, an explosion rocked his house, killing seven people, including a sheikh and a suicide bomber. According to preliminary data, the explosive device was detonated by a certain Aminat Saprykina, the wife of one of the members of the bandit underground. August 29 has been declared a day of mourning in Dagestan on the occasion of the death of Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi. Tens of thousands of people came to say goodbye to him.

Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was considered one of the most famous and influential Sufi sheikhs of the Naqshbandi and Shazalian tariqas. He had a great influence on the work of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Dagestan. He was also a recognized spiritual leader of the Muslims of Dagestan and an expert in the field of the Shafi'i madhhab and the Ash'arite aqida.

Said Afandi al-Chirkawi was married and had four children.

May the Almighty accept his Shahada. Amen.

Said-Afandi of Chirkey is probably the most famous of the modern Dagestan preachers and theologians, who was an adherent of Sufism, one of the mystical directions of Islam. Died as a result of a terrorist attack carried out by an underground terrorist organization.

This article will tell about the biography and activities of this Muslim and Sufi, who is respected by many residents of Dagestan.

Biography of Said-Afandi Chirkeysky

The future spiritual teacher was born in October 1937 in Dagestan, in the village of Chirkei, Buinaksk region. He is an Avar by origin (one of the indigenous ones). His father died when the boy was seven years old. Despite difficulties, at the request of his mother, Said still completes his study of the Koran and constantly reads prayer.

At the age of fourteen he began working as a shepherd to provide financial assistance to his family. He served in the Soviet Army for three years. After that he again worked as a shepherd. When the earthquake occurred in the Buynaksky region (in 1971), he was working on the construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station. There he served in fire departments and military guards. At thirty-two he retired from

He decided to become a Sufi and studied Islamic sciences, the works of Islamic scholars and Sufi sheikhs, and conducted theological activities. The sheikh considered Abdulhamid-Afandiz from the Inkho settlement to be his first spiritual teacher. Said Afandi was married and has 4 children.

Sufism

Sufism is a trend in Islam that preaches asceticism and a high level of spirituality, one of the main trends of classical Islamic philosophy. Followers of Sufism are called Sufis. This is the most esoteric and mystical Islamic movement.

According to the accepted view, the term Sufism is derived from the Arabic word for "wool". Islamic scholars divide the history of this mystical trend into several periods: the period of asceticism, the period of Sufism and the period of Sufi orders (tarikat). Due to the spread of the ideas of Sufism among various layers of Islamic society in the 12th and 13th centuries, the speculative mystical part of this religious movement developed, which is of interest mainly to educated adherents of Islam. At the moment, this Islamic movement plays an important political and social role in the development of Muslim states. Sufism is practiced by a large number of Muslim populations in various countries.

Students

Afandi is a spiritual sheikh who has the right to spread the tariqas of Sufism “Naqshbandiya” and “Shizalia”, and can also transmit them to his followers.

According to various estimates, the followers of this man were from ten thousand to twenty-five thousand people living in various regions of the Republic of Dagestan, as well as in other Russian regions - in Siberia, the Moscow region and the Volga region. The murids (in Sufism these are “faithful disciples”) of Said-afandi were representatives of many Dagestan peoples. In collective prayers, Sheikh Said of Chirkey gathered, along with the Shizolians, Naqshbandis and Qadiris. According to this Sufi, there is no significant difference between these branches of Islam, because they all lead to Allah. He was active in his theological activities until his death.

Tarikat

Tariqa is a way of spiritual growth and mystical knowledge of Islamic truth. This word meaning “path” is used in the Muslim scriptures. In fact, tariqas are numerous branches of Sufism that greatly influence the social life of the Islamic world. Adherents of Islamic asceticism, who initially followed the path of spiritual elevation and suppression of their passions, united around spiritual mentors in tariqas in the 11th century. Numerous Muslim houses of worship became their centers. It is traditionally believed that during the 12-13 centuries, twelve basic brotherhoods, or orders, as they are also called, emerged in Sufism.

Nasheed Said Afandi

Nasheed is an Islamic chant, in the classical version it should be performed by a male voice solo or in a choir without playing musical instruments. The use of musical instruments is prohibited according to many Islamic scholars and spiritual teachers, including the founders of four of the major legal schools of Islam. Many theologians dedicated nasheeds to Said Afandi after his death, honoring him. In Dagestan, nasheeds are sung mainly in the Avar language.

Works of Sheikh Afandi

Afandi wrote a large number of theological works that deal with the interpretation of the Koran. In the book “The History of the Prophets”, accessible and interesting, based on such respected sources as the interpretation of the Koran, hadith and books of influential scientists, the author talks about the difficult and sometimes tragic fate of the prophets of Islam from Adam to the main Islamic prophet Muhammad. The book is intended for a wide range of readers - from students of Muslim history to ordinary people.

The books of Said Afandi are very popular and respected among theologians and ordinary Avars. His works provide a broad interpretation of some chapters of the Muslim holy book, especially important for today. Muslims can be convinced that literal translations of the holy book cannot convey the true meaning and depth of the Quran. "The History of the Prophets" was published in two parts, in Russian and Avar.

Family life

Said Afandi al Chirqawi was married to his wife Uzalifat for more than forty years. He believed that in our time there are not many families that can boast of a strong marriage, good relationships and complete harmony. More and more problems arise in families, more and more divorces, more and more often family ties are destroyed. And the consequences of this phenomenon are all the other difficulties: high crime rates, prostitution, lack of moral values, many crippled lives.

Said Afandi believed that the best role models for Muslim women of all generations were the wives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Uzaliwat-haji, the wife of a respected Sufi, also believes that the most important thing for a woman is respect for her husband from the very first minute of marriage, a respectful attitude towards him and the strict fulfillment of all her duties - both wife and mother. A woman should not argue with her husband; every word he says should be treated with respect and understanding. Said-afandi's wife said in her interview that she never asked unnecessary questions, did not bother her husband over trifles, simply cooked food and raised children. And well-educated and grateful children are the fruit of harmonious family relationships.

Terrorist attack in the village of Chirkei

In August 2012, the media reported the death of Said Afandi. At about five o'clock in the evening, an explosion occurred in his house, as a result of which seven people died, including a sheikh and a kamikaze terrorist. The murder of Said Afandi was organized by a large underground. According to operational services, the terrorist is Aminat Kurbanova (Russian Muslim Alla Saprykina), who was the wife of one of the participants in the terrorist organization.

Identity of the suicide bomber

According to the official representative of the Russian investigative authorities, during the investigation it was established that the suicide bomber was prepared by a well-known figure in the terrorist underground - Abdul Malik. Responsibility for the terrorist attack in the house of a religious leader who lived in the settlement of Chirkei was claimed by the Riyadh al-Salihein group of kamikaze suicide bombers. Saprykina was a real religious fanatic and called on her like-minded people to jihad, a holy war. After her death, her child is raised by her mother-in-law, the mother of Kurbanov’s first husband.

Thirty-year-old Aminat Kurbanova converted to Islam after she married Murat Kurbanov, who became illegal and was liquidated by the special services. Her second husband was an accomplice of terrorists and took part in the arson of markets that sold alcohol. He was arrested when he was about to go into hiding forever. During a search, extremist brochures and weapons were found on him.

Sheikh's funeral

Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral of the Sufi sheikh. August 29 was declared a day of mourning in the Republic of Dagestan on the occasion of the death of Sheikh Said al-Afandi. The President of the Republic also instructed all city and district officials to assemble self-defense units, groups of young men who, under the control and together with law enforcement agencies, will work to ensure security and bring bandits and terrorists to justice.