Russian President Vladimir Putin was seen kissing the Holy Quran during his visit to a mosque in Chechnya this week, a video that went viral on social media.
According to the Daily ExpressThe gold-decorated Holy Quran was a gift from the Prophet Jesus Mosque in Grozny, Chechnya, to the 71-year-old Russian president when he visited the region for the first time in 13 years.
The Prophet Jesus Mosque is a new building in the Chechen capital that is intended to become an important religious site for Muslims in the region.
The video shows Putin receiving the Holy Quran and kissing it as soon as he holds it in his hand to show his respect for the Islamic faith.
The video also shows him posing for photos with people from the mosque while holding the Holy Quran.
However, this is not the first time that Putin has received the Holy Quran as a gift.
Last year, during his visit to a historic mosque in Derbent in the Autonomous Republic of Dagestan of the Russian Federation, the Russian President met with Muslim representatives and received a copy of the Holy Quran as a gift to celebrate Eid ul-Adha.
Putin said at the time that although desecration of the Holy Quran was not a crime in some countries, it was punishable in Russia.
“In our country, this is a crime under both the Constitution and the Criminal Code,” he said.
“The Koran is sacred for Muslims and should be sacred for others too,” he said as he thanked MPs for the gift. “We will always abide by these rules.”
His remarks came after Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee campaigning for a ban on the Holy Quran in Sweden, repeatedly desecrated the Muslim holy book in front of Stockholm Central Mosque as Muslims in Stockholm celebrated Eid ul Adha.
