The Federation Council calls on European parliamentarians to publicly condemn desecration of the Koran by radical extremists and take measures to protect the rights of Muslims and representatives of other religions to freedom of religion. This was announced on Saturday, February 4, by the chairman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, against the backdrop of Islamophobic actions in Sweden and the Netherlands.
The chairman of the upper house of parliament recalled that at the last meeting her colleagues expressed strong protest in connection with the desecration of religious shrines and incitement of inter-religious hatred.
“Russia is the main country in which, for centuries, other people living in different countries and religions have been treated peacefully and with respect. And the desecration of the Koran shocks not only Muslims, but also representatives of all faiths in Russia,” the speaker wrote in her Telegram channel.
Matvienko separately noted that she was especially outraged by the lack of an adequate response from the governments and parliaments of European states to the actions of extremists who cynically refer to freedom of expression and freedom of speech.
Earlier, on January 27, the leader of the right-wing extremist Hard Deal party, Rasmus Paludan, burned three books of the Koran in various places in Copenhagen. The first book was burned in a mosque on Dortevej Street in the northwestern quarter of Copenhagen, another one at the Turkish embassy in Österbro and a third one at the Russian consulate.
Paludan’s previous action was held on January 21 in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, where he also staged a public burning of a copy of the Koran. At the same time, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom indicated that freedom of expression was established in their state. Another similar action took place in the Netherlands.
Arab countries and organizations condemned the provocations. Ankara stated that the action was coordinated with the Swedish authorities and was actually carried out with their support. In this regard, Turkey refused to approve Sweden’s application to join NATO. The Turkish Foreign Ministry also summoned the Norwegian Ambassador because of the action planned for February 3 to desecrate the Koran and protested to him.
The burning of the Koran was condemned by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The department pointed out that this is not the first performance of radicals against Islam in European countries.
