Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has apologized to the Saudi royal family for a controversial ruling which denounced the country’s religious movement of Wahhabism as a “misguided sect.”
Islamic scholars sparked international uproar when they passed the religious ruling at the World Conference of Muslim Scholars in the Chechen capital of Grozny in late August.
The conference snubbed both Wahhabism or Salafism, ultra-conservative Islamic movements supported by the Saudi authorities, by refusing to recognize them as a legitimate branch of Sunni Islam.
Kadyrov’s weekend visit to Riyadh looks to mend ties with the Saudi regime, which had pledged to invest $10 billion into the Chechen economy back in May 2016.
In a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz on Sunday, the Chechen leader praised the Saudi king for his commitment to fighting extremism.
He also lauded Saudi Arabia as the “vibrant heart of the Islamic world,” The National news website reported.
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