Ibragim Batyrov, the imam of the central mosque in the Ingush city of Malgobek, has criticised men working as waiters and serving women during a sermon.
The video of his speech in Ingush was published by the independent local media outlet Fortanga.
In his address on Friday, Batyrov stated that such work was ‘undesirable in Islam’ for men. According to him, restaurants and cafes increasingly employed Ingush men to take orders and serve guests, including women.
‘You have all probably seen that now in restaurants, young men have started working as waiters. They come up, take orders, [and] serve. It would be fine if all the customers were men, but there are women there. And who is serving Ingush women? Ingush men! This is not normal. This is dirty. People say that no job should be considered shameful. This is undesirable work for men in Islam! There are many such jobs, and if I start listing them now, you won’t like it. This is shameful’, Batyrov said.
According to local media, Batyrov, 45, studied at the King Fahd Islamic Institute in Saudi Arabia and received his higher religious education at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Since 2007, he has served as imam of the central mosque of Malgobek.
Such statements by religious figures are not new to Ingushetia. Earlier, Ingush theologian Adam Aushev said in a sermon that women visiting beauty salons ‘bring a curse’ not only upon themselves but also upon men who allow them to go there. He called for women to be warned against using beauty industry services.
‘Visiting beauty salons brings a curse not only on women but also on men who allow their wives to go there. You should tell a woman: “I like you the way you are, as the Almighty created you”. It is also expensive — people pay up to ₽100,000 ($1,300). To pay for and to take money for this work is also a sin. We must condemn such things’, he said.
The theologian also criticised young people who are interested in South Korean TV dramas and animation.
‘Young people have their own circle and their own interests. They watch all sorts of incomprehensible shows and then put all sorts of things on themselves, and they no longer resemble either Muslims or Ingush. Strange clothes, hair, trying to imitate some Koreans’, Aushev said.
Other North Caucasus republics have also seen initiatives aimed at controlling the behaviour of men and women in public spaces.
Earlier in August, a group of Ingush men travelled 300 kilometres to the Daghestani city of Izberbash to ‘check’ beaches and cafes for Ingush women allegedly dating men of other nationalities. According to the participants, they found no evidence to support these rumours overnight but stated that they would continue to ‘monitor’ the behaviour of their female compatriots.
Elizaveta Chukharova
