Banning Hadiths and Seerah in Russia

A public scandal about the prohibition of more than 60 Islamic books by a Russian court, including classic Hadith collections and books on the Seerah (biography) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), has led to a very tragic turn of events. Rustem Valiullin, a Muslim lawyer who acted as a public advocate on behalf of the Russian Muslim community in this case was declared missing on June, 23.

The incident shocked Russian Muslims, as some of them allege that the death of Valiullin is nccidental. But even without this tragedy the case of banning Islamic books by Russian court is full of scandalous details and facts — beginning from incoordination between different levels in the Russian government and ending by the participation of Russian orthodox cleric in this prohibition.