"Extremist" book may be banned in Russia for sowing "social dischord"

The Qur'an, right?  With its hundreds of verses calling for the death of non-Muslims, the subjugation of women and the conquest of non-Muslim countries by the sword, it's a natural for being banned as "extremist."

But no, it's an even more dangerous book, by Russian standards.

The Bhagavad Gita.

Seriously.


From NDTV December 20

MPs ask govt to intervene as Russian court considers ban on Gita

New Delhi:  Angry MPs are urging the government to protect the rights of Hindus in

Russia, where a court is considering a ban on the "Bhagavad
Gita".

The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice over the issue. "What happened in
Moscow, it is a very strong plot against the "Gita". All Lord
Krishna's devotees are insulted today...we criticize it on behalf of
the whole Parliament. We cannot tolerate all this," said former
Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. MPs also asked if the PM was
aware of this controversy during his recent trip to Moscow.

In a Siberian court, state prosecutors have petitioned that the
"Gita", distributed locally by ISKCON members, is "extremist"
literature. The court in Siberia's Tomsk city was scheduled to deliver
its verdict today, but has postponed its decision to December 28.

"The ruling has been postponed till December 28, as the lawyer of the
local chapter of ISKCON requested the court to seek opinion of Russian
ombudsman and experts from Moscow and St. Petersburg - the main
centres of Indology in Russia", Sadhu Priya Das of ISKCON said after
the court in the Siberian city of Tomsk suspended its verdict.

The court in Tomsk is deciding whether to accept that the "Gita"
is literature that spreads "social dischord." The petition filed in
June this year also asks for a ban on a Russian translation of the
"Gita" written by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder
of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). In
Kolkata, protestors gathered outside the Russian consulate today.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has in
recent years been noted for bulking up its membership in Eastern
Europe. The organization has more than 400 centres across the world.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ambassador in India, Alexander M Kadakin, said
it is "inadmissible" that a holy scripture has been taken to court.
"Well, it seems that even the lovely city of Tomsk has its own
neighbourhood madmen. It is sad indeed...I consider it categorically
inadmissible when any holy scripture is taken to the courts. For all
believers these texts are sacred," the Ambassador said.

Nearly 15,000 Indians in Moscow have appealed to the Indian government
to intervene diplomatically. They say the court case also wants to ban
the writings of Prabhupada and ISKCON's religious beliefs on the
grounds that they preach "hatred" of other religious beliefs.