View source for 2016 international conference on Sunni Islam in Grozny

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{{Infobox event
| title         = Chechnya Conference {{nowrap|International Conference Who are the [[Ahl al-Sunna]]?}}
| image         = 
| image_size    = 
| date          = {{start date|2016|8|25|df=y}}–<br>{{end date|2016|8|27|df=y}}
| place         = [[Grozny]], [[Chechnya]], Russia
| organizers    = The conference was convened by the Shaykh Ahmad Kadyrov Regional Charitable Fund.<br>Foundation for Chechen Islamic Culture and Education.<br>[https://www.tabahfoundation.org/en/ Tabah Foundation], a non-profit organization based in Abu Dhabi.<br>[https://www.muslim-elders.com Muslim Council of Elders], a transnational network of Islamic scholars established in 2014.<ref name="The Arab Gulf States Institute">{{cite web|url=https://agsiw.org/who-is-a-sunni-chechnya-islamic-conference-opens-window-on-intra-faith-rivalry/|title=Who Is Sunni?: Chechnya Islamic Conference Opens Window on Intra-Faith Rivalry|date=16 September 2016|publisher=[[The Arab Gulf States Institute]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://chechnyaconference.org/material/chechnya-conference-statement-english.pdf|title=The Concluding Statement of the Chechnya Conference|publisher=chechnyaconference.org}}</ref>
| coordinates   = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|region:XXXX_type:event|display=inline,title}} -->
| also known as = Grozny Conference<br>Chechnya Conference<br>The World Islamic Сonference 'Who are [[Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah]]?'
| participants  = Over 200 Muslim scholars-theologians and religious leaders from various [[Islamic schools of thought]] from 30 countries all over the world, including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Kuwait, Sudan, Qatar, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Britain, Russia, South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan<ref>{{cite web|url=https://chechnyaconference.org/material/chechnya-conference-statement-english.pdf|title=The Concluding Statement of the Chechnya Conference|publisher=chechnyaconference.org}}</ref><ref name="Jamestown Foundation">{{cite web|url=https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|title=Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference|publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]]}}</ref><ref name="crescent.icit-digital.org">{{cite web|url=https://crescent.icit-digital.org/articles/grozny-conference-challenges-the-saudis|title=Grozny conference challenges the Saudis|publisher=[[Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought]]}}</ref><ref name="Kanglatif.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.kanglatif.com/2016/09/muktamar-ahlussunnah-wal-jamaah-aswaja.html|title=Muktamar Ahlussunnah Wal-Jama'ah (Aswaja) Di Chechnya|publisher=Kanglatif.com}}</ref>
| blank1_label  = Previous event
| blank1_data   = [[Sufism]]: Personal Security and State Stability<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/islamic-state-kadyrov-western-plot-wahhabism/26833493.html|title=Islamic State Part Of Western Plot Against Islam, Says Chechen Leader|publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]}}</ref>
| blank2_label  = Next event
| blank2_data   = 
| website       = [https://chechnyaconference.org/ chechnyaconference.org]
}}

The '''2016 conference on Sunni Islam in Grozny''' was convened to define the term "[[Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah]]",<ref name="Kadhim-huffpost"/> i.e. who are "the people of [[Sunnah]] and majority Muslim community",<ref name="AsiaNews.it-2016"/>{{#tag:ref|Sunni Muslims constituted about 85–90% of the world's Muslim population.<ref name=PEW2009>{{cite web|title=Mapping the Global Muslim Population|date=7 October 2009|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/|accessdate=10 December 2014}}</ref>|group=Note}} and oppose [[Takfiri]] groups.<ref name="Dehlvi-FP-9-2016">{{cite news|last1=Dehlvi|first1=Ghulam Rasool|title=Islamic conference in Chechnya: Why Sunnis are disassociating themselves from Salafists|url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/islamic-conference-in-chechnya-why-sunnis-are-disassociating-themselves-from-salafists-2998018.html|accessdate=16 November 2017|work=First Post|date=9 September 2016}}</ref> The conference was held in the [[Chechen Republic]] capital of [[Grozny]]<ref>{{cite web|title=مؤتمر الشيشان 2016|url=http://www.tabahfoundation.org/ar/news/view_article/?id=84|website=tabahfoundation.org|accessdate=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913175308/http://www.tabahfoundation.org/ar/news/view_article/?id=84|archive-date=13 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> from 25–27 August 2016, sponsored by the president of Chechnya, [[Ramzan Kadyrov]], and attended by approximately 200 Muslim scholars from 30 countries, especially from Russia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, Jordan, etc. at the invitation of Yemeni [[Sufi]] preacher, [[Ali al-Jifri]].<ref name="Kadhim-huffpost">{{cite news|last1=Kadhim|first1=Abbas|title=The SUNNI CONFERENCE IN GROZNY: A MUSLIM INTRA-SECTARIAN STRUGGLE FOR LEGITIMACY|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/57d2fa63e4b0f831f7071c1a|accessdate=16 November 2017|agency=HuffPost|date=2 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="ict.org.il">{{cite web|url=https://www.ict.org.il/Article/1808/the-grozny-conference-in-chechnya-is-the-salafi-movement-a-rotten-fruit-of-sunni-islam|title=The Grozny Conference in Chechnya – Is the Salafi Movement a Rotten Fruit of Sunni Islam?|publisher=[[International Institute for Counter-Terrorism]]}}</ref>

The conference was dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the birth of Kadyrov's father, [[Akhmad Kadyrov]], the first President of Chechnya.<ref name="rferl.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/caucasus-report-grozny-fatwa-controversy/27987472.html|title=Analysis: Grozny Fatwa On 'True Believers' Triggers Major Controversy|publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://realnoevremya.com/articles/677|title=At Ramzan's: what is the reason for the Chechnya head gathering Islamic establishment of Russia in Grozny?|publisher=RealnoeVremya.com}}</ref>

The conference was notable for excluding representatives of [[Wahhabi]] and [[Salafi]] movements, and for its definition of Sunni Muslims in the final communiqué of the conference that included [[Sufi]]s, [[Ash'aris]] and [[Maturidis]], but not [[Wahhabi]]s or [[Salafi]]s.<ref name="Kadhim-huffpost"/><ref name="AsiaNews.it-2016">{{cite news|last1=Cervellera|first1=Bernardo|title=Conference in Grozny: Wahhabism exclusion from the Sunni community provokes Riyadh's wrath|url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Conference-in-Grozny:-Wahhabism-exclusion-from-the-Sunni-community-provokes-Riyadh%E2%80%99s-wrath-38502.html|accessdate=16 November 2017|agency=AsiaNews.it|date=9 June 2016}}</ref> It condemned Salafism and Wahhabism as "misguided" sects, along with extremist groups such as [[ISIS]], [[Hizb ut-Tahrir]], the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and others.<ref name="Jamestown Foundation">{{cite web|url=https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|title=Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference|publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]]}}</ref><ref name="islam.in.ua">{{cite web|url=https://islam.in.ua/en/islamic-studies/conference-ulama-grozny-reaction-islamic-world|title=The Conference of Ulama in Grozny: the Reaction of the Islamic World|publisher=islam.in.ua}}</ref>

The conference definition stated:
<blockquote>“[[Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah]] are the [[Ash'ari]]s and [[Maturidis]] (adherents of the theological systems of Imam [[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi]] and Imam [[Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari]]). In matters of belief, they are followers of any of the four schools of thought ([[Hanafi]], [[Maliki]], [[Shafi’i]] or [[Hanbali]]) and are also the followers of the [[Sufism]] of Imam [[Junayd of Baghdad|Junaid al-Baghdadi]] in doctrines, manners and [spiritual] purification."<ref name="Ghaffari">{{cite news|last1=Ghaffari|first1=Talib|title=Over 100 Sunni scholars declare Wahhabis to be outside mainstream Sunni Islam – Chechnya|url=http://maktabah.org/blog/?p=3619|accessdate=16 November 2017|date=11 September 2016}}</ref></blockquote>

== Participants ==
Over 200 Muslim scholars-theologians and religious leaders from various [[Islamic schools of thought]] from 30 countries all over the world, including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, Qatar, Iraq, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Britain, Russia, South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://chechnyaconference.org/material/chechnya-conference-statement-english.pdf|title=The Concluding Statement of the Chechnya Conference|publisher=chechnyaconference.org}}</ref><ref name="AsiaNews">{{cite web|url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Conference-in-Grozny:-Wahhabism-exclusion-from-the-Sunni-community-provokes-Riyadh’s-wrath-38502.html|title=Conference in Grozny: Wahhabism exclusion from the Sunni community provokes Riyadh's wrath|publisher=[[AsiaNews]]}}</ref><ref name="Jamestown Foundation">{{cite web|url=https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|title=Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference|publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]]}}</ref><ref name="islam.in.ua"/><ref name="crescent.icit-digital.org">{{cite web|url=https://crescent.icit-digital.org/articles/grozny-conference-challenges-the-saudis|title=Grozny conference challenges the Saudis|publisher=[[Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought]]}}</ref><ref name="Kanglatif.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.kanglatif.com/2016/09/muktamar-ahlussunnah-wal-jamaah-aswaja.html|title=Muktamar Ahlussunnah Wal-Jama'ah (Aswaja) Di Chechnya|publisher=Kanglatif.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fa.abna24.com/service/europe/archive/2016/09/07/708343/story.html|title=کنفرانس چچن خشم وهابیت را برانگیخت + تصاویر|date=7 September 2016|publisher=[[AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA)]]}}</ref>

Among the notable scholars and preachers in attendance were:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maktabah.org/blog/?p=3619|title=Over 100 Sunni scholars declare Wahhabis to be outside mainstream Sunni Islam – Chechnya|date=11 September 2016|publisher=maktabah.org}}</ref><ref name="Kanglatif.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.kanglatif.com/2016/09/muktamar-ahlussunnah-wal-jamaah-aswaja.html|title=Muktamar Ahlussunnah Wal-Jama'ah (Aswaja) Di Chechnya|publisher=Kanglatif.com}}</ref><ref name="ict.org.il"/>
* [[Ahmed el-Tayeb]] (Grand Imam of Al-Azhar)
* [[Shawki Allam]] (Grand Mufti of Egypt)
* [[Ali Gomaa]] (former Grand Mufti of Egypt)
* Ibrahim Salah al-Hudhud (president of [[al-Azhar University]])<ref name="Jamestown Foundation">{{cite web|url=https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|title=Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference|publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]]}}</ref>
* Abdel-Hadi al-Qasabi (chairman of the Supreme Council of [[Sufi]] Orders in Egypt)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alghad.tv/40-عالما-أزهريا-يلحقون-بالطيب-للمشاركة-ف/|title= 40 عالما أزهريا يلحقون بالطيب للمشاركة في مؤتمر "أهل السنة" في الشيشان|publisher=Alghad TV}}</ref>
* Usamah al-Azhari (Egypt)
*[[Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad]], [[Grand Mufti of India]]<ref name="firstpost.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/world/islamic-conference-in-chechnya-why-sunnis-are-disassociating-themselves-from-salafists-2998018.html|title = Islamic conference in Chechnya: Why Sunnis are disassociating themselves from Salafists-World News , Firstpost|date = 9 September 2016}}</ref>
* Shaikh Anwar Ahmad al Baghdadi <ref name="firstpost.com"/>
* Muḥammad [[Muneeb-ur-Rehman]], Grand Mufti of Pakistan
* [[Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun]] (Grand Mufti of Syria)
* Abdel-Fattah al-Bezm (Grand Mufti of Damascus)
* Tawfiq Ramadan al-Bouti, the son of Sheikh [[Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti]] (Syria)
* [[Salah Mezhiev]] (Grand Mufti of Chechnya)
* Kamil Samigullin (Grand Mufti of Tatarstan)
* [[Allahshukur Pashazade]] (Grand Mufti of Caucasus)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.azernews.az/nation/101488.html|title=CMO head joins international conference in Chechnya [ PHOTO]|date=29 August 2016|publisher=AzerNews.az}}</ref>
* [[Abdul Karim Khasawneh]] (Grand Mufti of Jordan)
* [[Sa'id Foudah]] (A Leading Contemporary [[Kalam]] Scholar from Jordan)
* [[Umar bin Hafiz]] (Yemen)
* [[Ali al-Jifri]] (Yemen)
* Saif al-Asri (Yemen)
* Ahmed Abbadi (Secretary General of the Mohammedia League of Moroccan Ulama)
* Idris al-Fassi al-Fahri (Morocco)
* Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar al-Sharif (Kuwait)
* [[Hatim al-Awni]] (Saudi Arabia)

== Recommendations of the Conference ==
The conference participants reflected their support for what in Russia is considered “traditional” Islam.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vatchagaev|first=Mairbek|date=22 September 2016|title=Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference|url=https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514212546/https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|archive-date=14 May 2019|access-date=|website=The Jamestown Foundation }}</ref> Some suggestions came out of the conference, including recommendations to:<ref name="AsiaNews"/>

* The establishment of a TV channel in [[Russia]] to counter [[Al-Jazeera]], and "convey to people a truthful message of Islam and fight against [[extremism]] and [[terrorism]]."
* The establishment of "a scientific centre in [[Chechnya]] to monitor and study contemporary groups... and refute and scientifically criticise extremist thought." The proposed name for the centre is Tabsir (clairvoyance).
* The "return to the schools of great knowledge", such as: ([[Al-Azhar]] in [[Egypt]], [[al-Qarawiyyin]] in [[Morocco]], and [[University of Ez-Zitouna|al-Zaytuna]] in [[Tunisia]], and the [[Hadhramout University|Hadramout]] in [[Yemen]]), excluding Saudi religious institutions, particularly the [[Islamic University of Madinah]].
* Scholarships would be provided for those who are interested in studying sharia to counter Saudi funding in this field.

== Criticism ==
The conference evoked a torrent of condemnation and criticism followed from the [[Council of Senior Scholars (Saudi Arabia)|Saudi Council of Senior Scholars]]—as well as from the scholars of the [[Salafi movement|Salafi]][[Salafis|,]] [[Wahhabism|Wahhabi]], and ''[[Ikhwan al-Muslimeen|Ikhwani]]'' movements—for what they perceived as Russian meddling in regional politics via religion, and the implied condemnation of Salafis as ''[[Kharijites]]'', ''[[Karramiyya]]'', or ''[[Zandaqa|deviants]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecairoreview.com/tahrir-forum/saudi-arabias-struggle-for-sunni-leadership/|title=Saudi Arabia's Struggle for Sunni Leadership|date=11 September 2016|publisher=The Cairo Review of Global Affairs}}</ref><ref name="The Arab Gulf States Institute">{{cite web|url=https://agsiw.org/who-is-a-sunni-chechnya-islamic-conference-opens-window-on-intra-faith-rivalry/|title=Who Is Sunni?: Chechnya Islamic Conference Opens Window on Intra-Faith Rivalry|date=16 September 2016|publisher=[[The Arab Gulf States Institute]]}}</ref> Twenty-one [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] religious institutions across the world signed a petition of support to Salafis, expressing solidarity with them and called for unity, emphasizing that the conference participants only represent themselves.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yakubovich|first=Mikhail|date=31 August 2016|title=THE CONFERENCE OF ULAMA IN GROZNY: THE REACTION OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD|url=https://islam.in.ua/en/islamic-studies/conference-ulama-grozny-reaction-islamic-world|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308125805/https://islam.in.ua/en/islamic-studies/conference-ulama-grozny-reaction-islamic-world|archive-date=8 March 2018|access-date=|website= }}</ref> [[Syrian]] [[Sufi]] scholar Hasan al-Dugim condemned the conference as a sham and defended the "Salafi brothers"; arguing that they are closer to Sufis than "Putin's scholars". The conference was also discerned by the noticeable absence of delegates from [[Turkey]].<ref name="islam.in.ua">{{cite web|url=https://islam.in.ua/en/islamic-studies/conference-ulama-grozny-reaction-islamic-world|title=The Conference of Ulama in Grozny: the Reaction of the Islamic World|publisher=islam.in.ua}}</ref>

The [[International Union of Muslim Scholars|International Association of Muslim Scholars]], an organization led by [[Muslim Brotherhood]]-linked Islamist [[Yusuf al-Qaradawi]], reportedly criticized the conference as "a shameful attempt to sow dissent within the Muslim community."<ref name="rferl.org"/> The conference has also been widely criticised for toeing a [[Government of Russia|Russian government]] line. Prominent Russian religious leaders avoided the conference in protest.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vatchagaev|first=Mairbek|date=22 September 2016|title=Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference|url=https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514212546/https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|archive-date=14 May 2019|access-date=|website=The Jamestown Foundation }}</ref> The chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Moscow, Ildar Alyautdinov, expressed his disillusionment with the resolution of the conference.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vatchagaev|first=Mairbek|date=22 September 2016|title=Chechnya Hosts International Islamic Conference|url=https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514212546/https://jamestown.org/program/chechnya-hosts-international-islamic-conference/|archive-date=14 May 2019|access-date=|website=The Jamestown Foundation }}</ref>

In response to the widespread criticism received in the Islamic World, [[Al-Azhar University|Al-Azhar]] publicly distanced itself from the conference and in mid-October send a high-level delegation led by the senior Azhari scholar, Shaykh Abbas Shouman to [[Saudi Arabia]] and reconciled with the [[Salafi movement|Salafi]] religious establishment, including the [[Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia|Grand Mufti]] [[Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh|Abdul Azeez Aal-Shaykh]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barak|first=Michael|date=9 November 2016|title=The Grozny Conference in Chechnya – Is the Salafi Movement a Rotten Fruit of Sunni Islam?|url=https://www.ict.org.il/Article/1808/the-grozny-conference-in-chechnya-is-the-salafi-movement-a-rotten-fruit-of-sunni-islam#gsc.tab=0|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307054122/https://www.ict.org.il/Article/1808/the-grozny-conference-in-chechnya-is-the-salafi-movement-a-rotten-fruit-of-sunni-islam|archive-date=7 March 2019|access-date=|website= }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal
|Religion
|Islam
|Russia
|}}
* [[2020 International Maturidi Conference]]
* [[Amman Message]]
* [[International Islamic Unity Conference (Iran)]]
* [[Al-Azhar Shia Fatwa]]
* [[A Common Word Between Us and You]]
* [[List of Ash'aris and Maturidis]]
* [[Kalam]]
* [[Wahhabi War]]
* [[Nejd Expedition]]
* [[Hadith of Najd]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://chechnyaconference.org/ Official Website]
* [https://chechnyaconference.org/material/chechnya-conference-statement-english.pdf Download Concluding Statement in English]
* [http://www.reasonedcomments.org/2016/09/the-first-international-conference.html Grozny Conference: The First International Conference Dedicated To Answering The Question: Who Are The Sunnis?]
* [http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/sunnis-denounce-salafist-takfiri-terror/ Sunni Muslims Distance Themselves From Radical Salafist Muslims]
* [http://www.alhabibali.com/en/news/storm-in-a-teacup-a-statement-on-the-chechnya-conference/ Storm in a Teacup: A Statement on the Chechnya Conference]
* [https://www.rferl.org/a/chechen-mufti-defends-fatwa-calls-followers-nontraditional-islam-extremists/28025467.html Chechen Mufti Defends Fatwa That Calls Followers Of Nontraditional Islam 'Extremists']

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[[Category:Sunni Islam]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslims]]
[[Category:2016 conferences]]
[[Category:Islamic conferences]]
[[Category:Fatwas]]
[[Category:Open letters]]
[[Category:Grozny]]
[[Category:Ramzan Kadyrov]]
[[Category:History of Islam]]
[[Category:Islam and society]]
[[Category:Asharis]]
[[Category:Maturidis]]
[[Category:Sufism]]
[[Category:Wahhabism]]
[[Category:Salafi movement]]
[[Category:Muslim Brotherhood]]
[[Category:2016 in Islam]]