Residents of Dagestan are tired of tasteless shows, meaningless humours and asexual creatures who have swamped Russian pop music, the imams of Makhachkala said, when commenting on their list of 20 Russian pop stars who are viewed as personae non grata in Dagestan.

The imam of the central mosque in Makhachkala, Magomed-Rasul Saaduyev, said that the Dagestani board of imams had asked some artists and performers "to seriously think before making trips to Makhachkala".

This "black" list includes such pop singers as Filipp Kirkorov, Sergey Penkin and Boris Moiseyev. Their nontraditional sexual orientation is the reason why Muslim believers do not want to see them in their republic. However, the organizers of concerts do not understand why this list includes such bands as Refleks. Nevertheless, the organizers agreed with the clerical leaders of the republic and cancelled the concerts, including by Refleks, despite financial losses. (RGVK Dagestan, "Vremya Novostey", 1830 gmt, 9 Sep 06)