Violent death has touched many families in Daghestan, a republic in Russia's North Caucasus that has seen a low-level insurgency and sectarian-driven violence for years now. But the family of 54-year-old Khadizhat Nasibova in the village of Kirovaul has been devastated.
Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan has been coping with a low-level insurgency, as well as a tense conflict between the Sufi and Salafist branches of Islam, for years. RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service spoke to two brothers -- one of whom practices the officially accepted Sufi Islam while the other has converted to the banned Salafist faith -- about how their religious differences have strained their family bonds.
A couple in Daghestan has launched a hunger strike in a desperate bid to persuade their only son to renounce the insurgency, lay down his arms, and return home. About a dozen local boys in the Khasavyurt area have come home from the hills in recent months. The Alibekovs hope their son will be next.
Daghestan is the most ethnically diverse republic in Russia, yet history provides not a single example of ethnic conflict there. This tradition of tolerance continues even today. But times change and sometimes social problems can destroy even the most sacred qualities of a person's character.
!["When [my brother] tells me...that I shouldn't celebrate the Prophet's birthday, I answer: 'Stop. This is where this conversation must end,'" says Rustam (Abubakar) Shapiyev. Magomed Shapiyev refused to be photographed for this story.](https://gdb.rferl.org/30e01d2f-60e9-4086-a54a-fea0903a49e8_cx0_cy15_cw0_w100_r1.jpg)
!["When [my brother] tells me...that I shouldn't celebrate the Prophet's birthday, I answer: 'Stop. This is where this conversation must end,'" says Rustam (Abubakar) Shapiyev. Magomed Shapiyev refused to be photographed for this story.](https://gdb.rferl.org/30e01d2f-60e9-4086-a54a-fea0903a49e8_cx0_cy15_cw0_w66_r1.jpg)
