Insulting Prophet Muhammad is not freedom of expression, says Russian President Putin
Prime Minister Imran Khan has praised a recent statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he refused to describe any insult to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as an expression of artistic freedom.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said insulting Prophet Muhammad does not count as freedom of expression.
Insults to the prophet are a “violation of religious freedom and the violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam,”, Putin said on Thursday during his annual news conference, Russian news agency TASS reported.
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 its publication of cartoons of the prophet.
Responding to Putin’s statement, the Pakistani prime minister said: “I welcome President Putin’s statement which reaffirms my message that insulting our Holy Prophet PBUH is not ‘freedom of expression,'” he wrote in his Twitter post. “We Muslims, esp Muslim leaders, must spread this message to leaders of the non-Muslim world to counter Islamophobia.”
PM Imran has often urged the leaders of the Muslim countries to deal with rising anti-Islamic sentiment around the world.
