Elton fans warned of ‘divine punishment’

A leading Russian Muslim cleric warned on Thursday that fans who attend upcoming concerts by openly gay singer Elton John face divine punishment, after the star spoke out in support of Russian gays. “The only thing we can do as believers is to call the people not to give into the temptations of the devil and not attend Elton John’s Russian concerts,” Seidzhagfar Lutfullin, the imam of a mosque in the Volga city of Kazan told the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily. “Divine retribution for taking part in a hotbed of sodomy will fall both on those who attend the concert and those who perform there,” said the cleric from the Zakaban mosque in Kazan, a city with a large ethnic Tatar Muslim community. The cleric, known for his outspoken statements, also posted a message on the mosque’s website calling the British singer “the devil’s work.” John and other western pop stars have criticised Russia for discriminating against gay people after President Vladimir Putin in June signed a law banning the promotion of homosexuality to minors. Gay rights activists say the law can be used to prevent the holding of any public event. It has prompted discussion in Russia where gay pride marches are regularly banned by officials.