ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi have welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement about Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), in which he said insulting Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) does not count as an expression of artistic freedom.
“I welcome President Putin’s statement which reaffirms my message that insulting our Holy Prophet (PBUH) is not freedom of expression,” the premier wrote on his official Twitter handle.
The prime minister also urged the leaders of the Muslim countries to spread this message to heads of non-Muslim nations to counter Islamophobia.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also appreciated the Russian president’s statement. “Insulting our Holy Prophet (PBUH) is indeed a violation of religious freedom and is a far cry from freedom of expression,” he said.
Putin’s remarks
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that insulting Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) does not count as an expression of artistic freedom but is a “violation of religious freedom”, according to state news agency.
Putin made these remarks during his annual press conference in Moscow on Thursday, adding that insults to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were a violation of “the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam”.
TASS reported that Putin also criticised the publication of blasphemous sketches of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Such acts, the report quoted Putin as saying, gave rise to extremist reprisals.
Charlie Hebdo had published the blasphemous sketches in 2015, prompting condemnation from Muslims across the world. The publication had also led to an attack on the magazine’s office on January 7, 2015, in which 12 persons had been killed.
The issue had resurfaced in 2020 when the magazine republished the sketches on September 2 to coincide with the trial of 14 people accused of helping the attackers carry out their gun rampage against the magazine staffers.
A month later, a history teacher in France was beheaded after he had shown the caricatures in his class. In a ceremony dedicated to the teacher, French President Emmanuel Macron had vowed not to “give up [the] cartoons” and also made contentious remarks against “Islamists”, who he said “want our future”.
The caricatures were then also projected onto the facade of a building in one city and at protests around the country. The move and the French president’s remarks had drawn criticism from the Muslim World.
