At the special session "Russia and the Islamic world: mutual role and mutual influence", held in the framework of the XVI Annual meeting of the Valdai international discussion club, the head of Dagestan Vladimir Vasilyev spoke about interethnic and interfaith relations in the Republic.
According to him, there are no disagreements in the region on interreligious and ethnic grounds.
"For those who study this topic, it is obvious that the Islamic factor, which Russia tried to somehow promote, did not take place. That is due to a number of reasons. This year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the defeat of international bandit units in Dagestan. In 1999, ordinary Dagestanis were against international terrorism, which had a campaign for creating a Caliphate on Makhachkala. They fought with the help of federal forces, the army, and the special services. From that moment, the process of exemption of our country, including the North Caucasus, from such evil as terrorism has started", - Vasilyev noted in particular.
Answering the question about the secret of peaceful coexistence of representatives of different nationalities and religions, the politician answered: "It is hard to imagine such a trick, which was committed by Charlie Hebdo journalists, or some careless statements of political figures about the clothes of a Muslim woman. This is impossible in our country. We must respect each other".
The XVI Annual meeting of the Valdai international discussion club is held from September 30 to October 3 in Sochi. This year's theme is "The dawn of the East and the world political order".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Алексей Никольский/ТАСС