Attorney Demands Introduction of Sharia Courts in Russia

A Muslim lawyer in Moscow, Dagir Khasavov, suggested in a TV interview that Sharia courts should be legalized in Russia. "Muslims don't want to get involved in the [secular] court system,” he explained. “You think that we come here to Russia as to some foreign place. But we believe that we're at home here. Perhaps you're foreign and we're at home. And we will institute rules that suit us, whether you want that or not," said Khasavov. "Any attempts to stop this will end in bloodshed. There will be a second Dead Lake here. We will flood the city with blood," the lawyer warned. A public scandal ensued. The Russian Interior Ministry said it is checking Khasavov’s statement for extremism and sowing national hatred. Top Russian Mufti Talgat Tadjuddin opposed Khasavov’s idea, saying that the Russian Constitution provides separation of state and religion, and Muslims should use the same court system as everyone else. In contrast, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for Relations between the Church and Society, Vsevolod Chaplin, says Muslims in Russia must not be restricted in their right to live by their own rules. The head of the Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights, Mikhail Fedotov, said that parallel court structures were impossible in a modern state with rule of law. Fedotov also said that “only a madman who seeks to sow national hatred would threaten someone with spilling blood”. The official noted, however, that Russian law allows for out-of-court settlements, and this is where Sharia courts could be used.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/lawyer-calling-for-sharia-courts-to-be-checked-for-extremism/457578.html http://rt.com/politics/lawyer-suggests-legalizing-russia-941/
http://youtu.be/KaOxGx2GZvE (video)