Niqabs now outlawed in Dagestan

Dagestan banned wearing niqabs, a traditional women's Arab headdress, on the territory of the republic. The Muftiate's Telegram channel says that the restriction is temporary.

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Deputy Mufti of the Republic Abdul Salimov commented on the conclusions of the fatwa department. According to him, the decision was not correctly interpreted in the media.

"The Mufti, referring to an appeal from the Ministry of National Policy and Religious Affairs, which reports the existing security threat to the population of the republic and based on the competent conclusion of the department of fatwas issued yesterday, announces a temporary ban on wearing niqabs until the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological conclusion is made,” Deputy Mufti of the Republic Abdul Salimov said.

The head of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin earlier called for a ban on wearing niqabs in the country.

"It is the task of the State Duma to pass a law prohibiting what you are talking about,” Bastrykin said, adding that wearing the niqab was prohibited in Muslim countries. "We urgently need to ban all this,” he said.

Niqab is a female headdress that covers the face and leaves a narrow opening for the eyes.

In the fall of 2023, the parliament of Uzbekistan adopted amendments that prohibit wearing clothes that make it difficult to recognize a person in public places (with the exception of medical indications, work or official activities, etc.). The same year, a draft law introducing fines for wearing burqas and hijabs in public places was submitted to the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan.

Niqab ban may stir up tensions

Ildar Alyautdinov, the mufti of Moscow and the chief imam of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, said in May that a ban on the niqab could raise indignation among Russian Muslims. Such a decision could stir up tensions, he added.

"In addition, such attempts will look like a clear act of violation of the norms of secular law and the Constitution, which guarantees Russian citizens the right to free religious practices, and therefore observance of the canons of religion,” Ildar Alyautdinov told RBC.