"Russian Muslims have real means of pressure against the United States. We will create a fund for the purchase of weapons and supplies for the Iraqi people," Talgut Tadzhuddin, titular head of the Muslims in European Russia, said as quoted by the Interfax news agency.

A spokesman for Tadzhuddin, Artur Gubaidulin, told AFP that the jihad proposal "will be discussed by a special congress" of the Muslims of Russia in Moscow on Saturday.

However a spokesman for Ravil Gainuddin, the spiritual leader of Russia's 20 million Muslims, rejected the proposal, telling AFP that while "we all want a rapid end to the war, the declaration of jihad is completely pointless and (Tadzhuddin) has no right to make it."

Gainuddin, who heads the all-Russian Council of Muftis, is regarded by the Kremlin as the country's senior Muslim cleric.

Tadzhuddin headed a delegation of Muslim clerics who visited Baghdad in the days just before the US-led attack on Iraq. He said that his was only the second declaration of a holy war in Russian history, the first having been declared in 1941 at the time of the German invasion of Russia.

He said the effects of the holy war would become apparent within two or three days, but did not elaborate.

Russia's Muslim community is divided into two strands, the first based in the central republic of Bashkortostan and following Tadzhuddin, the larger second stand based in Moscow and following Gainuddin.

Damir Khazrat Gizatulin, Gainuddin's deputy, stressed that "only the Council of Muftis is empowered to take a decision concerning a jihad" and that Tadzhuddin's declaration was issued "on his own initiative."

Tadzhuddin "is only the leader of Bashkortostan" and has "exaggerated his rights," Gizatulin said, noting that only 62 of Russia's 3,600 Muslim communities fall under Tazhuddin's jurisdiction while the Council of Muftis controls most of the rest.

Russian Muslims should adopt humanitarian ideals "and send food and medicines to Iraq," Gizatulin said.

SPACE.WIRE