Russian Mufti Will Not Be Prosecuted for Anti-Gay Remarks
10/05/2006
Submitted by
Nikolay Alekseev, Human Rights LGBT Project GayRussia.ru
Mufti Will Not Be Prosecuted for Anti-Gay Remarks
MOSCOW, May 6, 2006 – Russia Mufti, Talgat Tadjuddin, will not face prosecution for anti-gay remarks made to a Russian news agency earlier this year, the Tverskaya District Prosecutor’s Office in Moscow has ruled.
The mufti said in an interview with Interfax that gays who took part in the Moscow Pride parade should be beaten.
Yesterday (May 5), the Moscow Gay Pride organizers lodged an appeal against the decision with the General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia.
They consider the Tverskaya District Prosecutor was wrong as the Mufti had provoked hatred towards gays – a social group – and this is illegal.
The judgement of the Tverskaya District Prosecutor said that an analysis of Tadjuddin’s interview for the Interfax news agency has shown that the Mufti had expressed his own point of view about the Moscow Gay Pride.
“He just had quoted hadisses of prophet Mohamed (sunna) which are additions for Qu’ran that determines principles of Islam,” the written judgement said.
The Prosecutor’s Office underlined that “except quoting of theses of the Qu’ran which are not prohibited by law, Mufti Tadjiddin didn’t make any actions which would provoke social discord. So his words in the media (interview for the Interfax news agency) can not be regarded as calls for the social discord.”
The head of the GayRussia.Ru project, Nikolai Alekseev, said last night that the decision of the Tverskaya District Prosecutor’s Office “provokes perplexity and shock”.
“In fact the Prosecutor’s Office made its judgement on the Muslim holy scriptures and not on the personal point of view of Mufti Tadjuddin that homosexuals should be “beaten” and that they “had no rights”.
“As I had thought, the Prosecutor’s Office was guided by the Qu’ran and not by law,” Alekseev said. “Russia is a secular state and the Prosecutor’s Office is supposed to uphold the laws of the country.”
In their appeal to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia, Moscow Pride organisers claim that the conclusion that Mufti Tadjuddin just quoted the Qu’ran and didn’t provoke the social discord contradicts reality – and is legally wrong.
“Tadjuddin has called for violence towards Gay Pride participants (sexual minorities) which is not quoting of Qu’ran, as there was no Gay Prides in times of prophet Mohammed. The Qu’ran doesn’t mention the violence against the sexual minorities, so the conclusion of the Prosecutor is wrong,” the appeal says.
“The literal text of Tadjuddin’s statement shows that he calls for violence are based not on prescriptions of a religion, but on the opinion of Tadjuddin that sexual minorities are ‘abnormal’.
“Tadjuddin’s statement was also made publicly and was the Mufti’s private point of view.
“The Russian Federation is a secular state which is based on the rule of law, and the religious persuasions can not be reason for discharge from the responsibility which is foreseen by the criminal law”, - the appeal says.
UkGaynews.org.uk, Gayrussia.Ru
■ The latest poll conducted by the independent Levada-Center and project GayRussia.Ru showed that almost half of Russians (49 per cent) supported a prosecution for the homophobic public statements of Mufti Tadjuddin. Only 28 per cent did not support criminal prosecution – and 23 per cent were undecided.
MOSCOW, May 6, 2006 – Russia Mufti, Talgat Tadjuddin, will not face prosecution for anti-gay remarks made to a Russian news agency earlier this year, the Tverskaya District Prosecutor’s Office in Moscow has ruled.
The mufti said in an interview with Interfax that gays who took part in the Moscow Pride parade should be beaten.
Yesterday (May 5), the Moscow Gay Pride organizers lodged an appeal against the decision with the General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia.
They consider the Tverskaya District Prosecutor was wrong as the Mufti had provoked hatred towards gays – a social group – and this is illegal.
The judgement of the Tverskaya District Prosecutor said that an analysis of Tadjuddin’s interview for the Interfax news agency has shown that the Mufti had expressed his own point of view about the Moscow Gay Pride.
“He just had quoted hadisses of prophet Mohamed (sunna) which are additions for Qu’ran that determines principles of Islam,” the written judgement said.
The Prosecutor’s Office underlined that “except quoting of theses of the Qu’ran which are not prohibited by law, Mufti Tadjiddin didn’t make any actions which would provoke social discord. So his words in the media (interview for the Interfax news agency) can not be regarded as calls for the social discord.”
The head of the GayRussia.Ru project, Nikolai Alekseev, said last night that the decision of the Tverskaya District Prosecutor’s Office “provokes perplexity and shock”.
“In fact the Prosecutor’s Office made its judgement on the Muslim holy scriptures and not on the personal point of view of Mufti Tadjuddin that homosexuals should be “beaten” and that they “had no rights”.
“As I had thought, the Prosecutor’s Office was guided by the Qu’ran and not by law,” Alekseev said. “Russia is a secular state and the Prosecutor’s Office is supposed to uphold the laws of the country.”
In their appeal to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia, Moscow Pride organisers claim that the conclusion that Mufti Tadjuddin just quoted the Qu’ran and didn’t provoke the social discord contradicts reality – and is legally wrong.
“Tadjuddin has called for violence towards Gay Pride participants (sexual minorities) which is not quoting of Qu’ran, as there was no Gay Prides in times of prophet Mohammed. The Qu’ran doesn’t mention the violence against the sexual minorities, so the conclusion of the Prosecutor is wrong,” the appeal says.
“The literal text of Tadjuddin’s statement shows that he calls for violence are based not on prescriptions of a religion, but on the opinion of Tadjuddin that sexual minorities are ‘abnormal’.
“Tadjuddin’s statement was also made publicly and was the Mufti’s private point of view.
“The Russian Federation is a secular state which is based on the rule of law, and the religious persuasions can not be reason for discharge from the responsibility which is foreseen by the criminal law”, - the appeal says.
UkGaynews.org.uk, Gayrussia.Ru
■ The latest poll conducted by the independent Levada-Center and project GayRussia.Ru showed that almost half of Russians (49 per cent) supported a prosecution for the homophobic public statements of Mufti Tadjuddin. Only 28 per cent did not support criminal prosecution – and 23 per cent were undecided.
