Dagestan MIA denies the fact of desecration of Koran by the military

On March 27, a press-conference of Eduard Obukhov, commander of 102nd operational brigade (OBRON) of Dagestan MIA internal troops, was held, reports the IA REGNUM correspondent.

Answering questions of journalists, Eduard Obukhov refuted the allegations that officers of the brigade desecrated Koran, a sacred book for each Muslim, published in the Dagestan weekly "Chernovik" on March 10, 2006 and later republished by a number of internet publications.

Eduard Obukhov stated that this could not happen for the simple reason that half the servicemen in the brigade are Muslims and local residents. All the actions in which the RD MIA IT OBRON units located in Dagestan take are aimed at stabilization of the situation in the republic. In Obukhov's viewpoint, the mass media publications are aimed at destabilization of the situation on the territory of military units and forces located in Dagestan, "in order to divert them from performing their functions."

In Obukhov's opinion, such information may also result in the fact that some people residing in this economically poor region will seek moral grounds for joining the illegal armed groups and earn money by terrorism. According to Eduard Obukhov, the prosecutor's office of Dagestan initiated criminal proceedings to investigate the fact of the publication of the article in question and the others which followed it.

For reference, 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 do without 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 mock 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 that 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.