Yesterday it became known that our brother Aslambek Ezhaev, the head of one of the oldest Islamic publishing houses «Umma» in Moscow, has been arrested. Many Russian-speaking Muslims have learned about Islam through his books. Aslambek was arrested on the serious charge of Article 205.1, Part 1 — «Assistance to terrorist activities», with a qualified composition. The maximum penalty for this charge can be up to 20 years in prison. This scenario, which has been widely used against Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, Abu Umar Sasitlinsky and other Islamic intellectuals and public figures, has now been applied to him. He is accused of financing terrorism, which can now be applied to any donation made to anyone accused of having ties to anyone suspected of being involved in anything. One could express outrage about this, but we may not do so, even though Aslambek is close to us, his fellow Muslims who know him well. We have been writing for a long time about how such individuals, who are the salt of the Islamic Ummah, are subjected to a war. InshaAllah, we will gather all the news about his case and make it one of our priorities to shed light on it. We also call upon all Muslims to gather and disseminate information about this matter, to draw public attention to it, and to support him and his family in whatever way they can.
But we also want to say something else. The repressive machine in Russia has not only gradually increased its activities over the years, but has also effectively divided its victims. When they started imprisoning Muslims, liberals said, «They’re Islamists, extremists, it’s none of your business, they deserve it.» When they started jailing liberals, Muslims were told, «They’re Islamophobes, supporters of LGBT, they deserve it because they were silent when Muslims were being jailed.»
And now look — the repression in the country has become massive, and everyone is imprisoned and banned at the same time. Moreover, if anyone thinks that by focusing on liberals and other political opposition figures they will forget about Muslims, here is a clear example that this calculation will not work. Today, all «extremists», «terrorist accomplices» and «foreign agents», both declared and those who are still in line, have found themselves in the same boat in this country. They have all become targets on the same shooting range. They can come at any time and for any reason — for a financial transfer made many years ago, for mistakenly liking or sharing a post, for attending a certain meeting, or for not reporting on someone or something you didn’t even know about.
It is important to recognize this, not to scare ourselves, but to stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated, to stop allowing potential victims to be pitted against each other. Any person who falls under the grinding wheels of such repressions can be an ally, regardless of their beliefs, and the enemy is the one who directs, serves and defends those grinding wheels. The only way for the former to get rid of the latter is to eliminate them, not just some individual cogs, but the entire system. This can only be achieved through joint efforts and as soon as such an opportunity arises. Amen.