Via SITE:

A pro-Chechen fighter website released a fatwa endorsing suicide bombings in Russia in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympics, and defending the blasts at a railway station and trolleybus in Volgograd in December 2013.

The website, Islam Din, posted the original Arabic fatwa and its Russian translation on January 12, 2014. It claimed that it submitted a question to the Shariah Committee of radical cleric Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi’s website, Minbar Tawhid and Jihad, about the religious justification for suicide bombings in Russia, and that it received a response from Abu Abdul Rahman al-Maqdisi. The cleric explained that attacks in Russia against “Christian disbelievers” are a legitimate response to Russia’s direct actions against Chechen Muslims and indirect actions against Syrians, and that suicide bombings are the best operations to inflict damage.

He said about the importance of such operations: “Frustrating the disbelievers and hurting them is an aim of Shariah that Allah loves, and we have seen how these operations frustrate the disbelievers. They are careful to demonstrate security stability in their country especially with the approaching Olympics, so shaking such stability is a required matter and an intended target.”

Abu Abdul Rahman also directed a message to prospective bombers in Russia, asking that they consult scholars for advice and Chechen fighters in the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus (IED) for strategies and tips. He added: “Seek legitimate targets that might cause the greatest damage to the enemy, and do not be hasty and choose easy targets so that your damage to Allah’s enemies is small. Your soul is precious, so do not make us lose you without great damage being inflicted on the disbelievers.”