Statements by an imam from Ingushetia provoked a discussion on Telegram

Ingush men should not work as waiters and serve women, said the imam of the central mosque of Malgobek Ibrahim Batyrov, and the head of the Muslim community of the city supported him. Honest work that allows you to feed your family is not shameful, commentators pointed out. The imam's position is in line with adat, others objected.

During one of his sermons, the imam of the central mosque of Malgobek Ibrahim Batyrov sharply criticized men from Ingushetia who work as waiters and serve women, among other things. Batyrov called this "dirty" and "unacceptable," Fortanga reported.

"You've all probably seen that now guys have started working as waiters in restaurants. They come up, write down the order, and serve. It would be fine if all the visitors were men, but there are women there too. And who serves Ingush women? Ingush men! This is not normal. It's dirty. Discussions begin, like, there's no shame in doing any work. This is undesirable work for men according to Islam! And there are many such jobs, and if I start listing them now, you won't like it. It's a disgrace," the publication translated his words. "Caucasian Knot" cannot verify the accuracy of the translation.

In the publication's Telegram channel, which has 12,041 subscribers, this post had garnered 66 comments by 10:49 Moscow time.

"Let every Imam who goes up to the podium watch his speeches, what he says, where he says," commented Maga Evloev.

"Let them work as waiters instead - this does not make them any less courageous. They earn an honest living and feed their families with this honest, clean money. This is better than sitting for days near the gate clicking sunflower seeds and waiting for the child benefit or parents' pension to come," commented Lida.

Other users said that this is in line with tradition.

"The Imam is just doing his job, he said how it should be according to Islam and Ingush adats, said user .....

"To be honest, I myself somehow "It's awkward when a guy serves and brings food. You want to get up and put everything down yourself. It's probably better for women to just not go to such establishments," wrote Z....

Marina Akhmedova, a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights and Civil Society Development, responded to the imam's statements. "Imams need to understand that in modern society it is impossible to live the way the Caucasus lived in the Middle Ages. It won't work. And focus on the spiritual development of their flock, and not on external constraints," she said on her Telegram channel.

According to Akhmedova, the publication "Regnum" headed by her contacted the head of the Muslim spiritual community of the city of Malgobek Ibrahim Kurskiev. He said that he supports Batyrov and shares his position. "Batyrov is right in his statements! Serving women is not a man's job. In general, women should not be among men! They should avoid places where men may be. If it so happens that a woman and a man come to the same establishment, the woman should be served by another woman, and the man should be served by a man. There should be separation! Women should sit separately, men - separately! This is Islamic law! " - she quoted Kurskiev as saying.

At the same time, Kurskiev noted that such rules should apply to all women, regardless of their religion and nationality.

“It doesn’t matter whether the woman is Ingush or Russian — there should be such rules. If a Russian woman comes to an establishment, it would be wrong for an Ingush man to serve her. And it doesn’t matter whether this happens in an establishment in Ingushetia or in Moscow. How would you feel if your wife came to an establishment and a male waiter served her? You understand that if a man serves a woman, he will look at her, they may meet eyes, start exchanging glances, look at each other — this is wrong. And what if they suddenly accidentally touch each other with their hands? For example, it’s unpleasant for me,” — Kurskiev said.

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