Disrespecting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) isn’t freedom of expression: Putin

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that disrespecting Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not count as the “expression of artistic freedom”.

Blasphemy of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a "violation of religious freedom and the violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam," he said while addressing his annual news conference on Thursday.

Putin said these acts give rise to extremist reprisals, citing as an example the attack on the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris after it published blasphemous sketches of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Russia’s TASS news agency reported.

Putin also criticised posting photos of Nazis on websites such as the one titled the Immortal Regiment and dedicated to Russians who died in World War II.

While praising artistic freedom in general, Putin said it has its limits and it shouldn’t infringe on other freedoms.

Russia has evolved as a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state, so Russians, he said, are used to respecting each other’s traditions.

“In some other countries, this respect comes in short supply,” he remarked.

Charlie Hebdo was the French magazine that published blasphemous sketches of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in 2015, the consequence of which was widespread backlash from Muslims.

Following the publication, an attack on Charlie Hebdo’s office had led to the deaths of 12 people.

In 2020, the magazine published the sketches again on the trial of the 14 people accused of helping the 2015 attackers.

Moreover, a history teacher was murdered a month after the republication, after he showed the blasphemous sketches to his class.

The act of the teacher had been defended by French President Emmanuel Macron, which also brought on criticism from the Muslim world.