How a Russian region’s school hijab ban sparked a war of words between North Caucasian lawmakers, Kremlin propagandists, and nationalist bloggers
In mid-October, the authorities in Russia’s Vladimir region issued a ban against clothing that “demonstrates a student’s religious affiliation,” including hijabs and niqabs, in schools. Within days, religious and political figures in Chechnya and other regions in the North Caucasus began protesting the policy, demanding it be revoked. Russian propagandists and pro-war bloggers, meanwhile, sided with the Vladimir authorities and defended the ban. Meduza shares a timeline of how the controversy has unfolded.
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The Vladimir region’s Education and Youth Policy Ministry issues a decree stating that “the wearing of clothing and elements demonstrating a student’s religious affiliation (including hijabs, niqabs, etc.) is not permitted.”
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The decree officially takes effect on October 25. The media gets wind of the new policy on October 26. That same day, the regional ministry writes on social media that, according to the Russian Constitution, Russia is a secular country in which “the church is separate from the state, including in the realm of secular education,” and adds that its new ban “ensures religious neutrality” in schools.
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The Coordination Center of Muslims of the North Caucasus issues a statement saying that hijabs are “not just religious clothing or religious articles but daily traditional clothing for Muslim women, a symbol of their honor and dignity.” It accuses authorities in the Vladimir region of launching a “destructive” initiative aimed at “inciting interethnic and interreligious hatred in Russia.”
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Salakh Mezhiev, Chechnya's mufti and an advisor to Governor Ramzan Kadyrov, says that the Vladimir region’s ban violates the Russian Constitution. “We’re also bewildered by the fact that this document specifically highlights a ban solely on Islamic religious attire,” Mezhiev states.
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Russian State Duma Deputy Adam Delimkhanov reports that he and other Chechen lawmakers met on Kadyrov’s behalf with Igor Igoshin, a State Duma deputy from the Vladimir region, to discuss the ban. “The outcome of the meeting was a decision to work together to overturn the provocative decree,” Delimkhanov writes on Telegram. He calls the regional officials responsible for the ban “irresponsible people” who are “undermining society’s stability”:
I also want to clarify the difference between a niqab and a hijab one more time. A niqab is a piece of women’s clothing that covers the face, while a hijab does not cover the face. We ourselves don’t endorse the wearing of niqabs, but wearing a hijab is a religious duty of Muslim women. If someone in the Vladimir region doesn’t understand these simple truths, we’ll explain in clear terms what religious traditions are and why they can’t just be unceremoniously banned!
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Russian pro-war bloggers sharply criticize the Chechen authorities for their efforts to overturn the Vladimir region’s religious clothing ban. Yury Kotenok, a so-called “war correspondent” who writes about the invasion of Ukraine, calls Adam Delimkhanov’s statement “an open threat” and urges officials in Vladimir “not to cave.” Oleg Tsaryov, a former member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada and a prominent figure in the Donbas separatist movement, says that “Chechnya is part of Russia, but not the other way around.” The pro-war Telegram channel “Two Majors” tells Delimkhanov “not to meddle in other’s affairs” and to avoid using phrases like “We’ll explain in clear terms” when speaking to officials. Pro-war blogger Roman Saponkov suggests that Chechen officials’ statements about the school ban demonstrate the “weakening of the federal center during the special military operation.” The pro-war Telegram channel Alex Parker Returns writes that “a third Chechen War is inevitable.”
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Biysultan Khamzaev, a State Duma deputy from Dagestan, refers to officials from the Vladimir region as “idiots” who “decided to oppose a big, important, and necessary policy” in place in Russia. Speaking at a State Duma round table, Khamzaev says that “in Dagestan, we have common sense — we don’t ban crosses, Passover, or anything else.” Addressing the authorities in the Vladimir region, he adds: “What, are you more important than the Russian Constitution?”
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Evgeny Popov, a State Duma deputy from Moscow and the host of the talk show 60 Minutes, says that Biysultan Khamzaev is a “hype-chaser” who “works to get clicks and views for his posts and mentions on social media.” He adds: “Unfortunately, this casts a shadow on the parliament, the government, and so on.” Later that evening, Popov writes on Telegram: “Khamzaev called. He threatened me. It happens.”
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The Vladimir regional government’s press service tells Kommersant that the authorities based their ban “on the experience of other regions, as well as on the position of the Supreme Court,” which upheld the legality of such bans in schools in 2015. A high-ranking source close to the regional government tells the newspaper that the authorities are “mildly surprised” by the controversy. “If anybody feels their rights have been violated, they’re welcome to go to court. After all, we live in a country of laws,” the source says. The same source notes that the region’s “small and close-knit” Muslim community had not expressed any disappointment with the decree, but that “for some reason, people from outside [of the Vladimir region] are trying to discuss our internal matters.” The source adds that the authorities have no intention of overturning the policy: “It would be strange to reverse this decision based on someone’s public statements.”
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says in a press briefing: “Look, every region exercises its own authority. We’re not participating in this discussion.”
