| Religion: | Islam |
| Ismail Berdiyev | |
| Native Name Lang: | krc |
| Mufti | |
| Birth Date: | 27 February 1954 |
| Birth Place: | , Kazakh SSR, USSR (now Aqsukent, Kazakhstan) |
| Denomination: | Sunni |
| Era: | Modern |
| Alma Mater: | Mir-i Arab mаdrаsasi, Bukhara; Imam Ismail al-Bukhari Islamic Institute, Tashkent. |
Ismail Aliyevich Berdiyev (krc|Бердилени Алиини джашы Исмаил-хаджи|translit=Berdileni Aliini jashy Ismail-khaji; ru|Исмаил Алиевич Бердиев; 27 February 1954 – 5 August 2024) was a Russian Sunni mufti from Karachay-Cherkessia. He gained worldwide attention when he proclaimed that "all women" should be subjected to the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).[1]
Ismail Berdiyev was born on 27 February 1954 in the village of Belye Body in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (now in Kazakhstan),[2] where his parents were expelled from North Caucasus with other Karachay people, when they were accused of collaboration with the Nazis in 1943 by Soviet regime. He returned to Karachay-Cherkessia with his family in 1957.
Berdiyev died on 5 August 2024, at the age of 70.[3]
Berdiyev, the mufti of Russia's North Caucasus region of Karachayevo-Cherkessia,[4] stated that FGM 'does not contradict the dogmas of Islam', and that this was a way to 'eliminate sexual depravity'.[1] He also claimed this was a way to reduce 'lechery' and 'sexuality', stating that "All women should be cut, so that there is no depravity on Earth..." The mufti made his comments following publication of a report by the Russian Justice Initiative (RJI), stating that FGM is widespread in some parts of Dagestan.[5] He was supported by Vsevolod Chaplin, a former spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church.[1]