This evening, Saudi Arabia announced the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in 2026. February 18th will be the first day of the month-long fast for Muslims worldwide, which will last until March 19th. March 20th will mark the holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

A new hafiz school, designed to accommodate 100 students, has opened in the village of Novy Sharoy in the Achkhoy-Martan District of the Chechen Republic. The school is named after Ali ibn Abu Talib, the fourth righteous caliph and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad.

In Kabardino-Balkaria, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) is negotiating with school administrations regarding the permissibility of wearing hijabs in educational institutions.

Chechnya's Mufti, Salah Mezhiyev, issued a statement in response to criticism from Russia's Chief Rabbi, Berel Lazar. In it, he accused "atheists and Ukrainian Satanists" of misinterpreting his words, and the rabbi himself of making hasty statements without verifying the facts. This refers to Mezhiyev's comment on the program "Chechen History. War and Peace," in which he discussed atheism as a "movement born of the Jews."

In an interview on a Chechen television channel, the Mufti of Chechnya, Salah Mezhiyev, called Jews "enemies of Allah" and "the founders of atheism." The comment was made on the program "Chechen History. War and Peace," where Mezhiyev, who is also the head of the Coordination Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus, discussed apostasy.

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation (SAM RF) has ruled that Muslim couriers are prohibited from delivering certain goods that violate Islamic norms. These include alcohol, pork, meat that does not meet halal standards, as well as gambling and objects of pagan worship.

Russian nationalists welcome the recognition of the dictionary "Islam in the North Caucasus" as extremist. Against the backdrop of this decision, the leader of the "Russian Community" organization Andrei Tkachuk stated that the activities of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Russia may also fall under the law.

The Council of Ulema of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation (SAM) has approved the use of botulinum toxin (better known as Botox) for cosmetic purposes for Muslims. This was reported by the press service of the organization.