Russia has characterized its invasion of Ukraine as a defense of traditional values against the decadence of the West. Many who deplore that decadence, including many in the West, believe that Muslims will be their allies in their struggle against it. While that is true to some extent, it will never override the Islamic imperative to convert or subjugate non-Muslims. Eventually these conservatives who count Muslims as their allies will find, to their dismay, their allies turning on them.
“Russia calls burning of Quran in Stockholm ‘another provocative act of Islamophobia,’” by Elena Teslova, Anadolu Agency, January 28, 2023:
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday blasted the burning of the Quran in Stockholm “as another provocative act of Islamophobia.”
“These blasphemous actions predictably provoked a harsh reaction in the Islamic world, including the Russian Muslim community,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news conference.
She noted the difference in attitudes to what happened and said in the “world that defends traditional values” the burning was assessed “as absolutely inadequate,” while the Western world “applauds this and says that this is not just normal, but good.”
“The excuses of Swedish authorities, who are trying to hide behind statements about freedom of speech, sound at least cowardly. The police allegedly issued a permit only to hold a demonstration in front of the Turkish Embassy, and no one coordinated the burning of the Quran.
“At the same time, the organizer of the demonstrations, the Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, did not hide his plans, and the demand of Turkish authorities to withdraw permission to hold a demonstration was ignored in Stockholm,” said Zakharova.
She noted that Swedish authorities did not take action to investigate the incident.
“They like to teach everyone else how to respect human rights and freedoms, they shout about their democracy at every corner. But in reality, in particular, in Stockholm, they do not show respect for either foreign legitimate governments or world religions,” she said….
