Russian Orthodox support for Muslim protest against Muhammad caricatures

January 21, 2015

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims took to the streets in Grozny, the capital city of the Chechen Republic in Russia, to protest the publication of caricatures of Muhammad by the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The head of the Synodal Information Department of the Moscow Patriarchate said that several Russian Orthodox prelates took part in the march, according to the Interfax news agency.

The prelates “thus showed their deep respect for the dignity of Muslims, which is threatened by the freedom of expression raised to the absolute degree,” said Vladimir Legoyda, the patriarchate’s spokesman.

“I am convinced that not only a believer, but a person raised in the traditional European culture, will never laugh at things that are holy to his neighbor,” he added. “What is called religious peace, both in Russia and outside it, has always been based on this foundation.”

 

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Further information:

• Hundreds of thousands protest in Chechnya against Mohammad cartoons (Reuters)
• Russian Church expresses solidarity with Muslims who protested in Grozny (Interfax)