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Ramzan Kadyrov Gets Royal Welcome
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, in Saudi Arabia to tour the holy places of Mecca (the minor hajj), took part in the semiannual cleansing of the Kaaba with Saudi King Abdullah II. Participation is the ritual is a great honor, reserved only for the most respected figures of the Islamic world. Kadyrov is the first Russian citizen to take part in it, although Uzbek President Islam Karimov has also taken part in the ritual. The Saudi king performed the ritual for the first time in 18 years.
Kadyrov arrived in Saudi Arabia Sunday night at the personal invitation of the king. He is being accompanied by a delegation that consists of Ziyad Sabsabi, chief representative of the Chechen Republic in Moscow, mufti of Chechnya Sultan Mirzaev, Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya Adam Delimkhanov and a number of other high officials from Grozny. They were met at the airport in Jeddah by the king's nephew, who is the local governor.
Kadyrov and a number of the senior members of the delegation were taken immediately to the Masjid al-Haram Mosque in Mecca to spend the night in prayer “for the prosperity of Chechnya and its people.” This is the second time the Chechnya leader has performed the Umrah, the pilgrimage recommended for every Muslim. The first time was in March of this year, immediately after he became president of Chechnya. Kadyrov was given a personal audience with the Saudi king immediately after the ritual in Mecca.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 15, 2007
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