The Uttar Pradesh government has drafted a proposed law that seeks to make marriages null and void if they are found to involve the forced religious conversion. Amid this, a post is getting viral on social media claiming that the Russian President Vladimir Putin banned inter-religion marriages for Muslims in Russia. 

A Facebook page name Assam Alert shares a post with a caption, "A Muslim man cannot marry a non-muslim woman in Russia. Ordered by President Vladimir Putin".

Fact Check

In our investigation, we found that the viral claim is false. This ruling is passed by a Russian Muslim organization. The ruling has no legal power.

We searched for this on the Russian Government website and found that the Russian government hasn’t issued any such ruling restricting interfaith marriages for Muslims. Also, we could not find any statement by Putin against interfaith marriages in Russia.

According to a news report by “The Moscow Times”, published on November 12, This ruling was indeed issued by a Russian Muslim organization 'Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia (DUM)'s advisory council of scholars when they issued a fatwa, restricting Muslim men from marrying non-Muslim women in Russia. According to the fatwa, the interfaith marriages between Muslim men and non-Muslim women are allowed “in isolated cases” that only local muftis can approve.

The Councils of Clerics of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims issued its fatwa, or ruling, in July, banning interfaith marriages for Muslims. The ruling was only published on November 10.

The deputy chairman of the spiritual directorate Damir Mukhetdinov issued a statement saying that the decision did not necessarily reflect the opinion of the larger directorate. "In this particular matter, the opinions differ and part of our clergy does not support or only partially supports the fatwa in question," Mukhetdinov said in his statement. Russia was a secular state, he also argued, and therefore the decisions by the Council of Clerics have no legal power.

In conclusion, the viral claim is false that the Russian President Vladimir Putin banned mixed-religion marriages for Muslims in Russia. This was a religious ruling passed by a Russian Muslim organization and the government hasn’t issued any ruling that bans Muslim men from marrying non-Muslim women in Russia. This ruling has no legal power from the Russian Government.