INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The republic of Chechnyas supreme mufti on Tuesday decried bans on hijabs and other spiritual clothes in schools as unconstitutional,
arguing that the restrictions break an individuals right to liberty of conscience and religion.Supreme Mufti Salah Mezhiev issued his
criticism a week after education authorities in central Russias Vladimir region ordered a ban on religious clothes, including hijabs and
niqabs, in public schools.Were bewildered by the truth that this prohibition order particularly and just targets Islamic religious clothing,
We hope that is because of an insufficient amount of work that was put into developing the order and not the result of a collective effort
against Muslims.Mezhiev, who also functions as a consultant to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, said he did not think calls for prohibiting
hijabs had Russias nationwide security interests in mind
He urged anybody who supports prohibiting spiritual clothing to volunteer to combat in Moscows war against Ukraine like the thousands of
fighters proclaiming Islam.Calls to prohibit hijabs in Russia have resurfaced this year after a series of fatal attacks claimed by Islamic
militants resulted in an uptick in discrimination and xenophobia in the country.Regional authorities previously released school hijabbans in
Russias Stavropol area in 2013 and the republic of Mordovia in 2015
Russias Supreme Court upheld both decisions.Russian President Vladimir Putin himself spoke out versus trainees wearing hijabs at school in
