MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly opposed the blasphemy of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) under the ambit of freedom of expression.
Addressing his annual press conference, Putin said that insults to the Prophet are a “violation of religious freedom and the violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam,” according to TASS news.
The Russian president highlighted that such acts trigger extremist reprisals, citing as an example the attack on the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris after it published blasphemous sketches of the prophet.
He also criticized posting photos of Nazis on websites such as the one titled the Immortal Regiment and dedicated to Russians that died in World War Two.
While praising artistic freedom in general, Putin said it has its limits and it shouldn’t infringe on other freedoms.
Russia has evolved as a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state, so Russians, he said, are used to respecting each other’s traditions. In some other countries, this respect comes in short supply, he said.
