Moscow, 30 January 2008 (Interfax):
President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya supports the teaching of religion as an established part of the curriculum of the state schools. “I support this proposal, for spiritual and moral training must be taught in our schools”, he said in a radio interview on Ekho Moskvy. Mr Kadyrov mentioned that he advocates the teaching of the principles of Islam in the Chechen state schools. “If our young people were taught what Wahhabis truly are, we would have no conflict, and no new Basayevs and Khattabs would appear”, he said. Mr Kadyrov believes that terrorists in Chechnya “used Wahhabi ideology to further their interests”. He thinks the education of the younger generation should not only be in the hands of the parents, “for in all other subjects this is not the case”. Mr Kadyrov deplored some current trends amongst youth, saying, “What are some young people doing now? They go about undressed, this leads to lewd behaviour and other evil things”. President Kadyrov thinks that the study of religious principles in school helps to foster in students a proper love of the motherland and a due respect for their elders.
Interfax-Religion
