By Kasim Isa Muhammad
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that the desecration of the Holy Quran is considered a crime in Russia, even if it is not seen as crime in other countries.
President Putin made these remarks while visiting the historical mosque and meeting with Muslim representatives from Dagestan in the Autonomous Republic.
The Turkish wire service Anadolu Agency quoted President Putin saying “in Russia, such actions are considered criminal according to both the Constitution and the penal code.”
President Putin expressed gratitude for a gift he was presented with during his visit to the Juma Mosque, where he was given a copy of the Holy Quran as present.
He, however, emphasised the sacredness of the Quran for Muslims, stating that it should therefore be respected by others as well.
Putin assured the representatives that Russia would always uphold these principles.
The Citizen Reporters gathered that the statement from President Putin followed an incident in which a man tore up and burned a copy of the Holy Quran outside Stockholm’s central mosque, leading to charges of agitation against an ethnic or national group.
Several demonstrations in Sweden against Islam have offended the Muslim world, including Turkey.
The Turkish foreign minister criticized allowing anti-Islam protests in the name of freedom of expression, deeming it unacceptable.
In a similar incident which occurred in Sweden earlier in January, the Russian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the burning of the Holy Quran, describing it as another act of Islamophobia that provoked strong reactions from the Islamic world, including the Russian Muslim community. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova revealed this during a news conference
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