Makhachkala, January 23, 2015. Bishop Barlaam of the Makhachkala Diocese strongly condemned publication of cartoons on Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and said he was sure that it will not happen again.

"The other day, several priests of the Russian Orthodox Church including me took part in a mass rally in the Chechen capital where people protested against the blasphemous publications in the Western press. With the rally we have demonstrated our deep respect for the dignity of Muslim believers which has been under threat by the press hounding under the slogan of ‘freedom’.

"It is absolutely unacceptable to equate freedom to permissiveness. Spiritual and moral values of traditional religions ought to be above this ‘freedom’.
"I would like to emphasize it is unacceptable to try and offend the feelings of believers and break traditionally peaceful relations between the Orthodox and Muslims in our country. I am convinced that every believer and every educated person will never mean to insult and mock at what is holy to his or her neighbour. This worldview has always been at the heart of interreligious peace in our country.

"In no case should we forget that North Caucasian republics have repeatedly been a target of religious extremists and terrorists. We all know well what consequences it may lead to. We must do our best to escape the mistakes done by other countries," said the priest.