Killing people cannot restore the honor and good name of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, retribution remains the prerogative of God, despite any insults, said the chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia (CMR) and the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia (DUM RF) Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin. His appeal was published on Friday on the website of the organization of Russia.
On Thursday morning, an unknown man attacked people with a knife at the Church of Notre Dame in Nice. Three people were killed and several injured were also reported. Several media outlets reported that the attacker beheaded two people. The attacker was quickly detained and injured. The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrozi, said that the attacker did not stop repeating "Allah Akbar". Everything points to the fact that what happened was a terrorist attack, the mayor of the city stressed. The antiterrorist department of the Prosecutor's Office is investigating the attack. On Friday, French President Emmanuelle Macron calls the Defense Council.
Ravil Gainutdin compared the cartoons of Muhammad to an insult to the national flag for patriots, with the only difference that "the mockery of the saint for the mind and heart of the memory of the Prophet ... inflicts even deeper, nonhealing wounds on the souls of believers regardless of religion".
"Publication and further replication of offensive cartoons, which we condemn in the strongest possible way, is a gross provocation," he stressed. At the same time, he urged Muslims "not to be like ignoramuses," but to preserve their dignity and "to emphasize the greatness of Islam by deeds noble and reasonable".
"Committed murders in no way can be considered acts to restore honor and good name of Islam and the Prophet of our religion (peace be upon him and blessings of Allah). The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself faced the gravest insults, attempts and atrocities during his lifetime, to which he always responded with forgiveness and generosity," Ravil Gainutdin wrote.
According to him, retribution is "the prerogative of the Lord of the worlds, and creation and brotherhood is the calling of His creations.
"Our pure religion in its foundation is a religion of goodwill and mercy, a religion of coexistence, not hostility. The greatness and holiness of Islam cannot be shaken by pictures, insults, movies. The holiness of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is invulnerable to the curse of ignorance," Gainutdin said.
Also "on behalf of 25 million Muslims of Russia and himself," he offered condolences to the people of the French Republic "for the inhumane murder of three unarmed people at the Basilica of Notre Dame in Nice".
"We categorically condemn the lynching and attack on innocent people in retaliation for certain actions, we share the pain, anger and rejection of the French citizens, we sympathize with the families where great grief has come today. We grieve together with the French nation and all those who are not indifferent to someone else's tragedy," said the Mufti.
Earlier, the Religious Board of Russia called on Muslims in France to sue the authors of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed and vote in the elections for candidates who can pass laws to protect the rights of Muslims, rather than commit crimes that discredit Islam. And Russian imams in the organization were asked to call the congregation for patience in conditions of fitnah (sedition, provocation): "to verify every word spoken in public - in mosques and prayer halls, in the media and in private homes".
This is the second attack in France in the last two weeks. On October 16, in the commune of Conflant-Saint-Honorin near Paris history teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded. The murder took place near the school where the teacher was teaching. Earlier, during the lessons where the theme of freedom of speech was discussed, the teacher showed the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo magazine on the Prophet Mohammed.
During the national farewell ceremony for the teacher, Macron said that France would continue to defend freedom of speech and would not abandon the cartoons "in the name of freedom of speech". After that, video projections of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed appeared on the walls of some administrative buildings in France. And in early September, French President Emmanuelle Macron said that there was freedom to blaspheme in the country. The position of the French president provoked a sharply negative reaction in the Islamic world.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofiev / TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti