Dagestan is the most religious, populous and complex of all the north Caucasian republics.[23] It is double the size of Chechnya and consists of several dozen ethnic groups, most with their own language.[23] The conflict in Dagestan, however, is not between ethnic groups but between Sufism, a syncretic form of Islam which includes local customs and recognises the state, and Salafism, a more traditional form which rejects secular rule and insists that the Salafist interpretation of Islam should govern all spheres of life.[23]