On 8 May 2008, employees of the Chechen Ministry of Foreign Relations, National Policy, andPress and Information performed a rite of sacrifice commemorating Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov,the pro-Russian president of the Chechen Republic who had been assassinated four yearspreviously, on 9 May 2004, during a ceremony devoted to the victory of the allied forces inWWII. Bulls were slaughtered and meat was given to an orphanage in Grozny. Before readingout the mawlid (in Chechnya, a collective prayer) to pay respects to the assassinated president,the vice-mufti2 of Chechnya, Magomed Khatanaev, remarked:If anyone were to have told us some twenty to thirty years ago that one day it would be possible to offerpraise to the Prophet Muhammad and carry out a rite of sacrifice in the government offices, he wouldhave been considered insane. Praise be to God that today we can openly utter the name of the Almightyand our Prophet, perform namaz,3 and observe the rules of the Holy Quran. Minister [of ExternalRelations, National Policy, Press and Information] Shamsail Saraliev’s proposal that such a rite should beperformed here [at the Ministry] proves that he and his subordinates are pious and generous peoplehonouring the memory of the noble sons of Chechnya, such as Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov. (GroznyInform, 8 May 2008)
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