It’s unclear which portions of the Qur’an came under the ruling, although Said-Magomed Chapanov’s saying that “every Muslim says the words of a prayer at least 17 times” suggests that it was the Fatihah, the first sura of the Qur’an, which pious Muslims who pray the five daily prayers will repeat seventeen times daily. In it, Muslims pray, “Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom you have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned anger or of those who have gone astray.” Islamic tradition often identifies those who have earned anger with the Jews and those who have gone astray with the Christians.
Chapanov adds, “Does this make every Muslim an extremist 17 times a day? Banning Suras from the Koran is like banning a Christian from reciting ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’” The Fatihah is indeed roughly comparable to the Lord’s Prayer in Christianity, but the Lord’s Prayer isn’t widely understood by Christians as condemning believers in two other religions. Also, Chapanov isn’t speaking just of the Fatihah; he compares “Suras from the Koran” to the Lord’s Prayer, but the Lord’s Prayer contains no exhortation to “slay them wherever you find them” (9:5; cf. 2:191 and 4:89), or to beat disobedient women (4:34), or to make war against and subjugate Jews and Christians (9:5), or to behead unbelievers (47:4), or to take sex slaves from Infidel women (4:3, 4:24, 23:1-6, 33:50), and so on and on.
Whether or not Russia or the Sakhalin Regional Court decides to classify the Qur’an or parts of it as “extremist,” there needs to be an honest public discussion of the nature of the Qur’an, without glib wave-of-the-hand dismissals with “The Bible is violent, too,” and serious strategizing about what can and should be done about the Qur’an’s capacity to incite violence. But that is not forthcoming, in Russia or anywhere else.
“Russian court reverses ruling recognizing Muslim book as extremist,” RT, November 5, 2015:
A court in the Russian Far East has canceled the verdict that recognized an Islamic book with abstracts from the Koran as ‘extremist material’, which caused outrage from the Muslim community and some politicians.
On Thursday the Sakhalin Regional Court canceled the ruling of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinst City Court of August 12, 2015, which banned fragments of ‘Prayer to God’ as extremist material. The regional court also rejected the appeal of local prosecutors who insisted that the work should be banned.
The initial verdict brought critical comments from Russian Muslims because the banned parts were actually abstracts from the Koran. The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, even demanded that the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk judge and prosecutors be brought to justice for insulting the holy book and thus inciting religious hatred.
Critics of the earlier decision expressed satisfaction over its reversal.
“This is a landmark ruling. This is a victory of the whole global community. In their statement prosecutors questioned the quotes from the Koran, but every Muslim says the words of a prayer at least 17 times. Does this make every Muslim an extremist 17 times a day?” Kadyrov’s representative Said-Magomed Chapanov said in comments to TASS. “Banning Suras from the Koran is like banning a Christian from reciting ‘The Lord’s Prayer’,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin drafted a set of amendments to the 2002 Law on Countering Terrorism that classify all holy books and sacred texts from Russia’s four established religions as exempt from any probes for extremism.
“Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism are an inseparable part of the historic legacy of the peoples who inhabit Russia. Thus the Bible, Koran, Tanakh and Kangyur, their contents and their quotes cannot be classed as extremist materials,” reads the explanatory note attached to the bill….

Cecilia Ellis says
“A court in the Russian Far East has canceled the verdict that recognized an Islamic book with abstracts from the Koran as ‘extremist material’, which caused outrage from the Muslim community and some politicians.”
A move that would make John I-was-for-it-before-I-was-against-it Kerry proud . . .
mortimer says
What does the Sakhalin Regional Court know? Do they have a PhD in Islamic Studies…like Caliph al Baghdadi?
Have they even read Islam’s source texts? Have they read the canonical commentaries on these verse written by Islam’s most respected scholars?
Have they noted that Islam’s own scholars interpret these verses in ways that are ‘EXTREMIST’?
How could Islam’s top scholars be wrong about Islam? It is the Sakhalin Regional Court that does not understand Islam. They are not even beginners.
Me says
They need to ban Islam along with the entire western world. Islam has no place in it.
katherine says
President Putin was misinformed about the Definition of religion when he drafted the amendments in 2002. He never realized that Islam is in essence a Satanic Cult – NOT a religion that requires protection. This is the same deception that had befuddled the masses in the Middle East for 1400 years, thereby allowing the Imams and Muftis ( practically cult-leaders ) to enslave their populations by elimination of secular education and enforcement of medieval cultures.
It is bad enough that ignorant westerners are generally clueless about the true nature of this cult, but I had expected more perspicacity from a Russian leader who headed KGB units from an early age. Surely he should have had a rigorous grounding in psychological warfare and been able to identify the Islamic texts for what they really are – ideology for the eventual enslavement of mankind.
Jay Boo says
The truth has been locked up very tightly.
The key has already been turned and the vault door is cracked open.
Some want to slam the door shut.
Don’t let them.
EYESOPEN says
Right on Jay Boo.
mortimer says
Chapanov adds, “Does this make every Muslim an extremist 17 times a day?”
Yes…it does. If they do not ‘act out’ jihad, they are obliged to inwardly support jihad and financially contribute to jihad.
Lucretius says
I was struck that this was an example of the sophistical tactic of misframing the issue. The proper question is, does this (and other passages even worse, like 9:5) ENCOURAGE every Muslim to be an extremist, that is, a despiser of the equal humanity and political and property rights of non-Muslims, not whether it MAKES them such. We all know “there is no compulsion in” the invisible matter of inner assent, and words on a page or from a preacher can’t make the inner assent conform to it. But it sure can encourage it.
gravenimage says
Exactly right, Mortimer.
mortimer says
How does Chapanov know what Muslims are thinking?
voegelinian says
“A court in the Russian Far East has canceled the verdict that recognized an Islamic book with abstracts from the Koran as ‘extremist material’, which caused outrage from the Muslim community and some politicians.”
Some of the Gung Ho Wing of the Counter-Jihad tend to assert that “Those Russians won’t pussyfoot around with political correctness, by gum!” But actually what we’ve seen is that Russians do, time and again.
Daniel Triplett says
Maybe ISIS shooting down a Russian airliner will change Putin’s calculus.
John Bolton believes Putin will exact some serious revenge for it. Unlike Obama.
We’ll see. I hope he does.
JMB says
Somehow I don’t think that even Putin wants to or is able take on the whole Islamic world. Perhaps he would like to control Islam, especially in Russia and former Soviet (Islamic) Republics.
As for Russia’s actions against ISIS, it is obviously in Russia’s interest, no more no less. Also as Donald Trump has commented; Russia could easily get very much bogged down in that conflict.
If it is proved that ISIS did bring down that Russian passenger jet, all I can say is that it will be interesting to see if Russia ups the Anti and how they do it. I will let others comment as to if it will be a prelude to WW3.
gravenimage says
I’m afraid Chechnya has been turned into a Shari’ah state under Putin’s watch–but he still supports Kadyrov. This does not bode well.
“Putin Is Down With Polygamy”
In assenting to coerced, teenage marriages in Chechnya, Russia’s Christian warrior has made a devil’s bargain with an Islamist thug.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/24/vladimir-putin-polygamy-islam-chechnya-christian-far-right-europe-ramzan-kadyrov/
Daniel Triplett says
WWIII is already in progress. We’re just not fighting back yet.
No nation can destroy Islam alone. All nuke states (sans Pakistan) must put aside our differences, and use our combined military and nuclear authority to criminalize Islam Worldwide.
“Total War: Extinguishing Islam from Earth” @dantriplett
https://medium.com/@dantriplett/islamic-jihad-is-total-war-for-all-marbles-6c858098b76e
sabboleh says
“Thus the Bible, Koran, Tanakh and Kangyur, their contents and their quotes cannot be classed as extremist materials,” reads the explanatory note attached to the bill….”
Ummmm….why not?
Angemon says
Except that it isn’t. I don’t remember the Lord’s prayer denigrating people on the account of their religion, or mandating Christians to attack others on the account of their religion. Just the kind of witless false equivalence and latching on we learned to expect out of followers of a religion that latched on to Christianity and Judaism…
gravenimage says
Very true.
c matt says
They are absolutely right – it is not extremist. It is simply run-of-the-mill Islam.
Walter Sieruk says
This female jihadist ,in the above picture, is being played as a fool by the male militant jihadists. For Islam give females little to no worth or value. The misogyny the is so much part of the very essence of Islam is very strong and will not go away. The male jihadists are very willing to use her and other girls and women as stooges and tools for the jihad. Nevertheless, the male Muslims will never accept her and equal to them . They will always view her as well as other women and girls as their inferiors.
catherineacampbell says
I don’t know where to contribute an article, but would like you, Robert, and everyone, to read this – it is Extraordinary! http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/we-are-all-on-the-front-lines-canadian-reportedly-killed-fighting-isil-wrote-essay-about-why-he-went-to-war
gravenimage says
Catherine, you can get in touch through “Contact Jihad Watch”, which is at the right-hand or bottom of this page, depending on device configuration.
As for your link, John Gallagher appears to be a brave and decent man, and I mourn his murder.
From his words, though, I’m not sure he ever fully understood the fundamental threat Islam presents to us. The threat is not just ISIS.
Plutarchus7 says
I WISH ALL JIHAD WATCHERS
here today a very, very sad sixth anniversary of Work Place Violence Ft Hood Day. Just 444 days to liberation when see-no-evil-in-Islam Obama ends his weak on jihad presidency.
http://www.apollospeaks.com
Charli Main says
The sorcerer apprentice is waiting in the wings to carry on her master’s work———–
Plutarchus7 says
Let’s hope she melts away like that other wicked witch in Oz
gravenimage says
Thank you for the grim reminder, Plutarchus.
EYESOPEN says
“Russian President Vladimir Putin drafted a set of amendments to the 2002 Law on Countering Terrorism that classify all holy books and sacred texts from Russia’s four established religions as exempt from any probes for extremism.”
So much for Putin as the “strong man”. He is just another wuss on the evil that is izlam.
gravenimage says
“Banning Suras from the Koran is like banning a Christian from reciting ‘The Lord’s Prayer’,” he added.
…………………………
Uh..right. Because a prayer sacralizing hatred of non-believers is *exactly* the same as a prayer urging forgiveness for others…sarc/off
More:
Russian President Vladimir Putin drafted a set of amendments to the 2002 Law on Countering Terrorism that classify all holy books and sacred texts from Russia’s four established religions as exempt from any probes for extremism.
…………………………
Yet more proof, I’m afraid, that those hoping to look to Putin as a no-nonsense Anti-Jihad leader are quite mistaken.
More:
The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, even demanded that the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk judge and prosecutors be brought to justice for insulting the holy book and thus inciting religious hatred.
…………………………
Kadyrov has quietly and almost entirely without criticism turned Chechnya into a Shari’ah state–and now he hopes to spread Shari’ah strictures to all of Russia.
suh_swami says
It does;t matter what some court says. The Qyran is what it is, it always gas been what it is, and it will always be what it is. And as long as Mahoundians believe what it is, there will always be jihad…
More Ham Ed says
“Does this make every Muslim an extremist…”
It’s been said (I didn’t coin the phrase) that not every muslim (lowercase be upon them) is an extremist, but every extremist seems to be a muslim (well, ok, 96%). It can also be said that the unholy ko ‘ran is 100% extremist and does not teach GRACE.
st patrick says
It’s not just like the “cook book” in the Twilight Zone” episode, it’s a cooked book period..
worldcitizen1919 says
Guns are dangerous too yet almost every American owns or has owned one yet they are not seen as evil by Americans as long as they’re used for good.
Religion can be abused and misused just like guns can but it doesn’t mean Islam is evil just like a few mass murderers doesn’t mean all Americans shouldn’t have the right to own a gun.
The key point here is to use religion or guns for the benefit and well being of society not its destruction. But neither are evil.
bartovan says
I thought along the same lines, namely that any religion can be used in any way. It is true to a certain extent. But it passes by the fact that there are enormous ideological differences between Islam and any other modern day religion. I will not go into detail here, but let more knowledgeable people do the explaining.
Listen eg. to Mosab Hassan Yousef, ex-Hamas militant and son of Hamas leader, now ex-muslim and free thinker. See eg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak4Q7gn9x4Y&t=1m9s and more in general http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjPUJZ2GGhqRLtkK22-G0Dw.
Also Wafa Sultan, psychiatrist and ex-muslim, is very clear. See eg. this interview with her: http://youtu.be/KO2NGpIUe70.
Islam is not just another religion, it is very much ore apparented to a totalitarian cult and the content of the Quran is honestly frightening, read it. Allah aonly approves of muslims, non-muslims are denigrated and openly threatened, and anyone but a devout muslim is destined to be punished for eternity in hell. Apart from that, muslims consider the Quran to be the only “non-perverted” source of truth, which closes them completely off and puts them on top of the rest of the world.
The Last English Prince says
Praying al-Fatiha seventeen times a day comes from the work of Syed Qutb. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood pray “The Opening” seventeen times a day. “Lord of all the Worlds” translates Lord of the Alamin – man and all created beings. This includes the jinn.
Loyal Qutbists will pray al-Fatiha 17 times a day. It is a magna carta in miniature.