Ban of Quran Translation Overturned
The decade-old translation of the Holy Book was banned in September by a court in the southern city of Novorossiysk under article 282 of the Criminal Code for the "incitement of national, racial, or religious enmity." The ruling was appealed by the lawyer of Azeri theologian Elmir Kuliyev, who wrote the translation.
"We were expecting the ruling to be overturned," said Rushan Abbyasov, the deputy head of the Council of Muftis of Russia, by telephone. "We actively participated in the appeals process, and our theologians demonstrated that Kuliyev's translation was in no way extremist. The district court was incompetent, making a decision solely to foment a popular reaction, and the regional court realized that."
Muslim leaders had warned that if the ban of the Quran translation was not overturned, many of Russia's 15 million Muslims would take to the streets in protest.
While Tuesday's ruling was cheered by Islamic organizations, including Russia's Spiritual Directorate of Muslims, theologians did not unanimously support the decision to overturn the ban.
Islam scholar Roman Silantyev said the controversial translation of the Quran was "Wahhabist and ignorant," Lenta.ru reported.
Source: The Moscow Times
