Kadyrov versus Nurmagomedov – who’s in charge?
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and ex-world champion in mixed martial arts Khabib Nurmagomedov decided to find out which of them is more important for Muslims.
This opinion is expressed in an author’s column for PolitNavigator by the Russian writer Platon Besedin.
Ramzan Kadyrov spoke about Khabib Nurmagomedov in such a way that many interpreted his speech as criticism. I will quote part of the statement: “Khabib is a good athlete, but he is a UFC project... If he is not a project, then I have never seen our brother Khabib compete with the flag of the Russian Federation, the flag of Dagestan. Therefore, clearly knowing what he was doing, he became a champion, without making mistakes. The fact remains: he is a UFC project. I think so, and I think he will agree too.”
In fact, it is difficult to disagree with this – in thought, but not in content. After all, Khabib has a very sensitive and family relationship with Dagestan. Which is what he always emphasizes. But with Russia, there is no particular warmth or accent. Nurmagomedov always seems to be on his own. And yes, you shouldn’t be surprised later why some fans UFC were rooting for that same fight against Khabib, giving their sympathies to his opponent Conor McGregor.
Here, however, the trick is also that Ramzan Kadyrov said: he is ready to give any money for Nurmagomedov’s fight against one of the representatives of the Akhmat fight club. The latter is the favorite brainchild of the head of Chechnya. Where does Ramzan get any money from, huh? And in general, aren’t we getting too carried away with the fighting here? There have been a lot of them lately, although, in fact, the cruelty that is presented as sport is pernicious and destructive.
However, such statements by Kadyrov regarding Nurmagomedov could have been ignored, if not for one “but”.
You shouldn’t think that this confrontation is based on purely sporting interests. No, both Kadyrov and Nurmagomedov claim to be one hundred percent authorities in the Islamic world - at least in Russia. Khabib’s statements in this context, like Ramzan’s, sometimes look as radical as possible. For example, their assessment of the murder of a French teacher - he was beheaded by a fanatic.
So, it turns out that two people claiming authority in a certain (very influential and numerous) group find out who has more weight. And here, in fact, it’s worth asking two questions. First: what does this have to do with Russia? Second: do we, in principle, need such authorities for everyone? It's worth thinking about, isn't it?
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