Said Afandi, a representative of the Dagestan Sufis, was killed on August 28 in his own home by a suicide bomber. More than 150 thousand people attended the funeral of the famous theologian of Sufism. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies have so far failed to establish who is behind the elimination of such an influential and authoritative person.
Investigative authorities managed to establish the identity of the terrorist who triggered the explosive device in the house of Said Afandi quickly enough, it turned out to be 30-year-old Aminat Kurbanova (Saprykina as a girl), a widow previously killed by intelligence agencies.
The law enforcement agencies consider the sheikh’s religious activity to be the main version of the murder. Said Afandi was a representative of moderate Sufism, opposed radical Muslim movements - Salafism and Wahhabism. This, most likely, was the cause of his death. At the same time, none of the representatives of the terrorist underground has yet claimed responsibility for the murder of the Sheikh. This is understandable - even if representatives of radical Islamic movements are behind the death of Said Afandi, it is not beneficial for them to ascribe this crime to themselves, at the risk of setting many Dagestanis against themselves.
The murder of the leader of the Dagestan Sufis is beneficial for those who are trying to rock the situation in the republic. Therefore, it may well be that none of the radical Islamists was involved in the death of Said Afandi, and if he was involved, then only as a performer of someone else's will. The sources of the attack in this case should be sought among those who do not want to establish a dialogue between the various Islamic movements of Dagestan, primarily between the Sufis and Salafists. That is why the assassination of Said Afandi is attributed to a variety of forces, including foreign and Russian special services.
If the possible involvement of foreign special services in the terrorist attack has quite understandable motives - in particular, the desire to foment a religious war in the republic, then accusing the Russian security services of this may be bewildering - why should they destroy the leader of traditional Islam, who supported the current government? The answer to this question can be found in the statements of the militants. They claim that they could have killed Sheikh Said Afandi long ago if they considered it necessary, and it was the Russian special services who accuse him of eliminating it. According to them, the death of the sheikh is needed by the Russian authorities as an occasion to start a total war against the Salafists.
Despite such a variety of options, the most probable and explainable all the same is the involvement in the death of Said Afandi of the Dagestan terrorist underground. After killing the sheikh, the militants destroyed one of the most influential theologians of Sufism, which significantly weakens the position of traditional Islam. At the same time, Salafi leaders who have been trained abroad are actively recruiting young people into their ranks, this is facilitated by the difficult economic situation in the republic. Unemployment, corruption, and the absence of prospects for the future for many young people are pushing them into the ranks of radical Islamists. And whoever stood behind the death of Said Afandi, his death will only accelerate this process.
