Russian servicemen in Dagestan accused of desecration of Koran

Russian servicemen in North Caucasus are accused of desecrating Koran, the holy book for Moslems. One such incident in Dagestan has been reported by local journalists. Moscow's servicemen unofficially say that the case is serious.

Marko Shakhbanov, "Chernovik" newspaper correspondent, related to the "Echo Moskvy" radio that the militaries had desecrated Koran during the search in one of the villages of Khasavyurt District in Dagestan in the house of a killed militant.

According to Shakhbanov, officers of 102nd brigade threatened the militant's widow and requested that she should cancel the services of a lawyer. One of the military servicemen who conducted the search, "in addition to threats, took Koran from the bookshelf and started to methodically tear off pages from it," then he took scissors and cut its pages and dropped Koran twice on the floor.

According to Shakhbanov, Dagestan journalists of the "Chernovik" newspaper learnt about it from a relative of the killed militant. The militant's wife who was present during the Koran desecration "would not meet with the newspaper journalist under the pressure of relatives," said Shakhbanov.

"It was rumoured in the village that some unknown people had come to the village again to take the Koran, therefore it was hidden at some quiet spot, and we had to move across the village for half an hour before we could see the desecrated holy book," added the journalist.

The above 102nd brigade is a unit of Russian MIA internal troops. It has been in Dagestan for more than a year now, its headquarters are in Makhachkala. Soldiers of the brigade took part in combat actions in Chechnya. The radio station communicated with the Russian MIA internal troop's headquarters. They responded that the incident should be analyzed in detail, but, in general, "it is a serious case."

The reaction of the Muslim community has been prompt. "Blasphemous actions of the militaries with regard to Koran are the result of large-scale Islamophobia which is cultivated in the Russian society " states Ismail-Khazrat Shangareyev, mufti and leader of the Islamic Legal Centre.

According to the mufti, "Islamophobic feelings are so strong that desecration of Koran, the object of worship by Muslims or mocking at the feelings of Muslims is almost heroism." He warns that Islamophobia is "a terrible danger, a delayed action mine," and unless we stop it, "irreversible consequences may follow, such as in Yugoslavia."

Shangareyev noted that "the militia officer who desecrated Koran surely could not imagine he was committing a crime." For him, Muslims are potential criminals, while their faith is a criminal faith, added the mufti. He stated that desecration of Koran in the village of Dagestan is only one case which became known. "I could give a lot of such examples," cites his words NEWSru.com.