Russian Muslims joined ultra-nationalist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky on Monday in condemning the death sentence of former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, saying his execution could destabilise the Muslim world.
The flamboyant Zhirinovsky, who heads the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), characterised the verdict as "a game" played by the United States.
"What are they doing with Saddam Hussein? They hide him, they put him on show, they punish him... It's a travesty," Zhirinovsky said at a news conference. "It's meant once again to humiliate the Islamic world, to humiliate their leaders."
Zhirinovsky described the deposed Iraqi leader as "a normal, calm, educated person" and "a philosopher," as well as crediting Hussein with teaching him to smoke cigars.
"Why is only Saddam Hussein called a tyrant? Because there's oil there ... He had all the oil he wanted," Zhirinovsky said.
The LDPR leader is a personal friend of Hussein's.
Kamilzhan Kalandarov, a Sunni Muslim who leads the interethnic relations committee of the Public Chamber, a state-sponsored civil society body, added his warning that executing Hussein could destabilise the Muslim world.
"If Saddam Hussein is hung, then all his crimes, or all his mistakes to put it more mildly, will be nothing in comparison with the consequences that await us, that await the entire Muslim world," Kalandarov said.
He added his doubt that Hussein would be executed, saying: "To make Saddam Hussein into a martyr for faith ... isn't in the interests of the United States."
Chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis Ravil Gainutdin warned of that executing Hussein would further complicate attempts to rebuild war-ravaged Iraq.
"Carrying out such an inhumane sentence will throw out all the hopes of the Iraqi people for transforming the country," Gainutdin said in a statement read by council representative Rushan-Khazrat Abbyasov.