T. Belman. Putin is thus favouring freedom of religion over freedom of speech. But Freedom of religion simply means the right to think, express and act upon what you deeply believe, but it doesn’t also protect your beliefs from criticism nor your feelings regarding your beliefs.
Islam is not only a “religion”, it is also a political system that impinges on the rights of others, big time. We must protect our right to criticize it. In the US, freedom of speech gives you the right to urinate on the stars and stripes and to attack belief in God or Jesus. Surely it also gives you the right to attack Mohammed.
Days ago, Russian leader Putin stated that insults to Muhammad were a “violation of religious freedom and of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam.” He went even further to cite “as an example the attack on the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris after its publication of cartoons of the prophet.”
Now Jamaat-e-Islami is hailing Putin over his comments, calling Putin’s stand a “great effort to mitigate rising Islamophobia in West.” Note that jihadist countries do not focus any significant attention to China’s “Islamophobia.”
Pakistan is a state funder of jihad terror and is at the forefront of efforts to criminalize insults to Islam internationally. Domestically, Pakistan is infamous for its blasphemy laws, which have led to the hunting down of innocent Christians on trumped-up charges. Putin’s comments boost Pakistan’s efforts, but his ulterior motive is nothing more than an attempt to gain more political and economic power.
Putin is in a race to establish political and economic alliances in a fast-changing world in which America is virtually MIA, with a decrepit President unable to lead domestically, let alone internationally. As Jamaat-e-Islami noted:
As a leading figure on the global stage, your voice will find resonance in East and West. You can play a leading role in mitigating Islamophobia, as well as hostility towards other minority communities around the world.
Putin’s recently strengthened alliances with Pakistan, the Taliban and China are yet another wake up call to how quickly America is losing global influence.
For example, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov stated last Wednesday that “Moscow and Islamabad will boost ties in the fight against terrorism, with Russia providing unspecified military equipment to Pakistan and the two holding joint exercises at sea and in the mountains.” One can immediately spot the absurdity in the idea of Pakistan helping to fight terrorism. It is a key player in the sponsorship and promotion of jihad terror globally. See HERE.
Most significantly, Lavrov emphasized: “We stand ready to strengthen the anti-terrorist potential of Pakistan, including by supplying Pakistan with special military equipment.”
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed relations between Russia and China two weeks ago, with Putin declaring China “a proper example of interstate cooperation in the 21st century.” In Putin’s words:
A new model of cooperation has been formed between our countries, based among other things on such principles as not interfering in internal affairs [of each other], respect for each other’s interests, determination to turn the shared border into a belt of eternal peace and good neighborliness.
His defense of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and praise for China are merely part of his business handshake, serving his larger ambitions of political clout and economic growth.
Russia now views itself as the great American replacement. Its “officials routinely assert that Moscow is rightfully the region’s chief security provider.” Russia is quite prepared to scapegoat America strategically. According to a Carnegie Endowment report, should “security threats to Central Asia or Russia arise out of the Taliban takeover, they will be the fault of the United States. By preassigning blame, the Kremlin is trying to give itself an excuse should it have to resort to cross-border strikes inside Afghanistan itself.”
“Jamaat-e-Islami hails Putin’s anti-blasphemy stance,” Anadolu Agency, December 27, 2021:
Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Sirajul Haq on Monday hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stance against blasphemy.
In an open letter to Putin, he thanked him for drawing the world’s attention to Muslims’ feelings against offensive language or publication of blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Last week, the Russian president said that insulting the Prophet (PBUH) is a violation of freedom of religion and a violation of the holy feelings of people who profess Islam.
“This freedom must be founded on respect for everyone whose feelings may be affected,” Putin said at his annual news conference last Thursday.
“On behalf of the people of Pakistan, and members of my party, I would like to reiterate our commitment to upholding values of respect, harmony, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence,” Siraj said, adding, “We believe in cooperation among various civilisations to promote the well-being of all the humanity.”
“We believe it will be a great service to humanity if world leaders like yourself take it upon themselves to promote understanding among different civilisations,” he said, asking the Russian president to play a “leading role” in mitigating a rising phenomenon of Islamophobia, particularly in the West.
“As a leading figure on the global stage, your voice will find resonance in East and West. You can play a leading role in mitigating Islamophobia, as well as hostility towards other minority communities around the world……
Both favor tyranny! Makes sense. Deny 1st amendment which is slowly dying in the West as well.
@Sebastien Zorn
Russia has a huge Muslim population within it and around it from the FSU.
He doesn’t have a choice, in a way.
– that’s freedom of speech, of course!
They insult and slaughter Jews practically at will and then insist that Jews rule the world…
And yet the same hypocrites who decry insults against Mohammed never condemn Muslim insults against Judaism and incitement against Jews. Putin is such an opportunist. He’s always been mainly worried about Islamist attacks on Russia. Well, let’s see how far this appeasement gets him.