Following the report on Faridoun Shamsiddin, Tajik media has provided details regarding another individual involved in the incident at Crocus Hall in Moscow based on accounts from his relatives and neighbors.
Reporters from Tajik media outlet ASIA-PLUS had the opportunity to speak with the family and other residents of Muhammadsobir Faizov, a 20-year-old Tajik citizen involved in the attack at Crocus Hall, engaging in a detailed discussion about him.
Neighbors and relatives of Faizov conveyed to the media that he did not exhibit strong religious beliefs. Prior to the attack, he was employed at a barber shop in the city of Ivanovo, Russia.
Faizov’s journey to Russia was primarily motivated by economic aspirations, according to his family.
In an interview with Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, locally known as Radio Ozodi, Faizov’s mother shared that her son had relocated to Russia two years ago in response to the family’s financial hardships. He had been working as a barber, but expressed dissatisfaction with his earnings before the incident, deeming it insufficient.
The Federal Security Service of Russia released a video featuring the apprehended attackers, wherein one of the suspects mentioned that he had been promised a payment of 500,000 rubles ($5,400), yet only half of the agreed amount was deposited into his bank account. Subsequently, he disclosed that a sum of around 1 million rubles had been pledged.
Sairam Faizova, Faizov’s mother, affirmed that her son was not inclined towards religiosity and did not engage in prayer.
Faizova described her son as nonreligious and someone who “loved going to wedding banquets” and dancing at get-togethers with his friends in Dushanbe.
Imam Sayyed Rahman Habibov, Imam of the mosque of Sarikishti area of Rudaki district where Faizov’s family resides, supported Faizov’s mother account by stating, «His father and brother frequented the mosque, but I have not observed his presence there.»
Abdul Aziz Abdul Samaduv, the vice principal of the school from which Faizov graduated, expressed skepticism regarding the notion of Faizov affiliating with ISIS, highlighting that he did not partake in religious instruction at the school and refrained from prayer.
Due to the lack of religious knowledge, people with such a dark background soon fall into the trap of Daesh.
Most individuals who become ensnared by ISIS are typically young, impressionable, and lacking in religious knowledge, like Faridoun Shamsiddin and Muhammadsobir Faizov, who are unaware of how to pray.
The objective of ISIS’s propaganda primarily targets those with little knowledge of Islam, as they can be easily manipulated under the guise of Islam or monetary incentives.
These young individuals, unfamiliar with religion and Islam, are susceptible to falling into the trap of the Khawarijs, forsaking their personal history and deeming all other Muslims, aside from their small faction, as unbelievers.
