Putin vows strict punishment for anyone found guilty of disrespecting Quran in Russia’s Islamic states

MOSCOW – Amid rising Islamophobia, the world witnessed deliberate acts of desecration of the Holy Quran, which were highly offensive and disrespectful by Muslims as these acts are seen as an affront to the religion of over 2 billion people.

As West failed to take any measures to stop such attempts that trigger strong backlash, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced sentence for anyone found guilty of burning Islam’s holiest book in the Muslim regions.

Kremlin state-run news agency quoting the Russian president said offenders will complete their sentences, as directed by the Minister of Justice, in places of deprivation of liberty located in one of the regions of Russia with a predominantly Muslim population.

Russian premier made these remarks during a meeting with army commissars. The recent development comes a month after a Russian resident was held for desecrating a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque, a move that caused outrage, especially in Chechnya.

Besides banning any Islamophobic events, Moscow earlier denounced Sweden for allowing citizen to burn copy of the Quran in the capital Stockholm.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) is not covered by freedom of expression.

In 2021, Putin said that insults to the Prophet are a violation of religious freedom and a violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam. He made the statements during his annual press conference where he stressed the significance of artistic freedom without hindrance to religious freedom.

Russian president asserted artistic freedom in general but also stressed to discern its limits saying it should not attack the freedom of other communities.

Back in 2006, Putin called the caricatures depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) an inadmissible provocation. He condemned blasphemous cartoons saying these incidents create an additional rift between faiths, and offend and provoke worshippers.