People's religious feelings should be respected, but Russia is a secular state – Putin said

 

 

 Novo-Ogaryovo, October 18, Interfax - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday commented o the situation around the wearing of hijabs at schools.

"We should always treat the religious feelings of people with deep respect. This should manifest itself in government activity, in nuances, in all. Second, ours is a secular state and that's what we should proceed from," Putin said at a meeting with representatives of the All-Russian Popular Front.

The hijab issue was raised by a female participant, who criticized one of the Cabinet ministers for saying that there was nothing terrible in schoolgirls wearing hijabs, when asked to comment on the matter.

Although, Russia is a multi-religion state, it is also a secular state with "common secular rules", Putin remarked.

"In our country, the church is separated from the state", he added. "This is an important element of our life - for today and for tomorrow. We should take a look at our neighbors, how they deal with such problems, say, in European countries. And then all will become clear".

Everything should be done in a "calm and acceptable form so as not to offend anyone, through discussions with religious communities," the president said. "I saw how some respected people, including in the Islamic environment, spoke about the values of our living in a secular state".

If Russia is allowed to move in a different direction, then "here I ask you to listen attentively - more than 80% of our country's population associate themselves with Orthodoxy, formally or informally".

"In other words, if all people are not equal, if they do not abide by the secular principles of our state, then representatives of all other traditional religions may feel hurt in some way or other in the not so distant future," Putin said.

Earlier, a Stavropol region mufti said that some Muslim parents complained of their daughters having been barred from attending classes in one of the local schools while wearing hijabs.

Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov said, in response to these complaints, that the wearing of hijabs did not contradict school regulations or commonly accepted norms.

Stavropol Duma deputy Olga Timofeyeva called his statement "absurd". "This man fails to understand the traditions existing in schools in the North Caucasus", she told Interfax. 

 

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