During his visit to Chechnya on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped at the Prophet Isa mosque in Grozny and posed for photos while holding, and kissing, a gold-leaf copy of the Quran.
Putin was flanked by his hand-picked Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, and top Chechen Muslim cleric Mufti Saah Mezhiev during his Quran smooch. The Grand Mufti ceremonially read a verse from the Quran, translated into Russian for Putin.
The Prophet Isa mosque, constructed in 2020, is a huge and expensive structure that can accommodate 5,000 worshipers at once. “Prophet Isa” is Islam’s version of Jesus Christ, who ranks beneath Muhammad in Muslim theology, although he is still a Top Five messenger of the divine.
The Kremlin ensured the video of Putin hugging the Quran at a major Muslim religious center during his first trip to Chechnya in 13 years went viral. Cynical observers, such as India’s Hindustan Times, saw the photo op as a gambit to “woo Arabs away from the U.S.A. as Iran plans an Israel attack.”
Afghanistan’s Khaama Press suspected Putin’s “symbolic gesture of kissing the Quran” was intended to “bolster support from Chechen Muslim fighters” so more of them would agree to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
The online reaction from Chechen Muslims seems to be mixed, with some appreciating Putin’s gestures of respect while others insisted he should not have been allowed to touch the Quran.
Putin also gained some unwelcome attention from Internet wags for wearing his ear protectors upside down while observing a firearms exercise with Kadyrov:
“I was an officer of a fish and game club for 11 years, and also taught firearms courses. I never saw anyone wear headphones this way. It looks like Putin has dementia,” a user on Twitter observed.
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