RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Moscow religious spokesmen refuse to support free speech for French "Charlie"

CHURCH CRITICIZES ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE FALSE CHOICE BETWEEN SUPPORT OF TERRORISM AND "CHARLIE HEBDO" POLITICS

Interfax-Religiia, 14 January 2015

 

The head of the synod's Department for Relations of Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, affirms the danger of both terror and blasphemy in connection with the Paris tragedy.

 

"It is necessary to fight against terror; there is no justification for terror. But this does not mean that it is necessary to be in solidarity with provocative blasphemy and sacrilege or with insults to one or another persons, and this also happened in the infamous caricatures [of the French satirical weekly "Charlie Hebdo"—IF]," the priest declared on air in the "Eternity and Time" program on TV channel Spas ["Savior"].

 

He said that when the attempt began to encourage everybody to express solidarity "with those rather problematic, to put in mildly, cartoons that had been published and, apparently, will be published again in the infamous magazine, there began a definite political campaign and there began the attempt to confront people with the question: 'Who are you for, the terrorists or the authors of the famous caricature?'"

 

The church's representative is sure that this is a false choice. "One should not put a person in a harsh dilemma: either you are with the terrorists, and also with all the world's evil, or you are with the magazine."

 

He also suggests that there is an attempt to impose on people in a harsh form the preeminence of the value of freedom of speech and creativity "over all the rest: over morality, over the feelings of believing people, over civic peace, over the future of society."

 

"I am for world peace, for a world without pseudo-Islamic and any other terror, and simultaneously for a world without provocative blasphemy. The absence of the one and the other is an important condition for a world that is really peaceful," the priest emphasized.

 

Last week in Paris during two terrorist acts 17 persons in all died: 12 employees of the French weekly "Charlie Hebdo," which had printed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, and also five customers of a Kosher supermarket.

 

On 14 January, a three-million run of the new issue of Charlie Hebdo was published. On its cover was printed a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. French newspaper stands sold out all of the copies they had. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 January 2015)

 

FIRST VICE-CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL OF MUFTIS OF RUSSIA CALLS NEW "CHARLIE HEBDO" CARICATURES OF PROPHET MUHAMMED "UNACCEPTABLE RESPONSE TO TERRORISTS' ACTS"

Portal-Credo.ru, 14 January 2015

 

Rushan Abbiasov, the first vice-chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia (SMR), called new publication of cartoons in "Charlie Hebdo" with the Prophet Muhammad an unacceptable response to the actions of terrorists, since such actions hurt the feelings of believers, and he called Muslims not to give in to provocations.

 

In a regular edition of the satirical weekly "Charlie Hebdo," whose editorial office last week was subjected to a vicious attack of terrorists, a new caricature of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad was published with a placard Je suis Charlie ("I am Charlie"). The current issue of the magazine appeared in newsstands on 14 January.

 

"In our view, this [the publication of a caricature] is unacceptable and we condemn it, because there is the concept of the feelings of believing people which it is not permitted to mock. We have always urged, and we will urge, the Muslim community not to give in to provocation, and we urge the news media nevertheless to observe the concept of decency and to recall that there are believers for whom this is unacceptable. Religion is a centuries-old culture which it is improper and unacceptable to oppress," Abbiasov told RIA Novosti.

 

He said that today, when the West is propagandizing freedom of speech, permissiveness, and nontraditional marriages and relationships, it is important to remember that there are very clear moral values which must be cherished, including the topic of religion. In Abbiasov's opinion, in the event of the publication of cartoons, the issue is not freedom of conscience. "It is whose are the political orders who do not want peace, harmony, and stability in society, and who are trying to artificially inflame inter-religious strife, scandals, intrigues, wars, and conflicts," the news agency's interlocutor is sure.

 

The first vice-chairman of SMR thinks that believers must "explain more and enlighten society about who the Prophet Muhammad was as an enlightener and highly moral person." At the same time, Abbiasov stressed that in Russia the feelings of believers are protected at the legislative level. "In Russia, praise God, we always will be able to protect our rights in this regard," the religious leader notes. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 January 2015)


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