Russia blacklists translation of the Quran
A recent decision to blacklist a translation of the Quran in Russia is the latest of a slew of bans on religious texts, reflecting a disturbing, yet hardly surprising, trend of religious censorship in that country.
In late September, a court in the southern Russian city of Novorossiisk banned a translation of the Quran by Azeri theologian Elmir Kuliyev which the court said promoted extremism. The ruling called for the Kuliyev translation to be banned and copies of it 鈥渄estroyed.鈥澛�
Among the court鈥檚 complaints are that Kuliyev鈥檚 translation contained 鈥渟tatements about the superiority of Muslims over non-Muslims,鈥� 鈥渘egative evaluations of persons who have nothing to do with the Muslim religion,鈥� and 鈥減ositive evaluations of hostile actions by Muslims against non-Muslims.鈥�
With that ruling, that edition of Islam鈥檚 holy book joins some 2,000 publications banned over the last decade in Russia, reflecting a concerning movement toward state-sanctioned censorship in that former socialist state.
Not surprisingly, the move angered Muslims across the world, including in Russia, where they comprise a significant minority (about 15 percent of the population).聽
"Russian Muslims are very strongly indignant over such an聽outrageous decision," Rushan Abbyasov, deputy head of聽Russia鈥檚 Council of Muftis, an Islamic organization with ties to the Kremlin, told the .
A lawyer representing Kuliyev called the move 鈥減ure idiocy,鈥� while Akhmed Yarlikapov, an expert on Islam with the Russian Academy of Sciences, said, 鈥淭his is one step away from banning the [entire] Quran....You could ban the Bible just as easily because it also has passages that talk about the spilling of blood.鈥澛�
In an open letter to President Vladmir Putin, Russia鈥檚 Council of Muftis reminded the leader of the repercussions of past decisions to ban or destroy the Quran, including by American pastor Terry Jones, who threatened to聽burn the聽Quran on聽Sept. 11, 2010.
鈥淚s it necessary to聽discuss how the聽destruction of聽books, especially sacred religious books, has been received in聽Russia in聽the past?鈥� it read. 鈥淲e recall how the聽burning of聽just a聽few copies of聽the Holy Koran by聽a crazy American pastor elicited a聽firm protest not just from聽Russian Muslims but from聽our entire society, in聽solidarity with the聽stormy and聽long-lasting anger of聽the global Muslim community and聽all people of聽goodwill.鈥�
As the UK鈥檚 notes, the ban is curious, given the country鈥檚 large Muslim minority. 鈥淭he ban is baffling, as the Russian authorities have little to gain by antagonising 15% of the population, including huge chunks of the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, never mind the restive republics of the Caucasus,鈥� it writes.
Nonetheless, this isn鈥檛 the first religious text to be banned by Russia. Since passing the 2002 law On Counteracting Extremist Activity, the country has blacklisted more than 2,000 publications, including all works by Nazis and fascists, as well as ultranationalist, anti-Semitic, and jihadist texts, according to the . Also banned is Mussolini鈥檚 autobiography, the works of Scientology founder Ron L. Hubbard, more than 60 classic Islamic religious texts, and even religious texts of Jehovah鈥檚 Witnesses.
(Apparently the Hindu religious text the Bhagavad Ghita narrowly escaped the ban.)
If that鈥檚 not arbitrary enough, consider this. Among the texts not on the blacklist are those by and celebrating the communist leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin, under whose rule hundreds of thousands of people were imprisoned in labor camps, deported, and executed.
We suppose that goes to show there is rarely rhyme or reason to book bans.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
