By AW Siddiqui
In his speech in Les Mureaux on October 2, 2020 President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled a plan to defend France’s secular values against what he termed as “Islamist radicalism”, saying the religion was “in crisis” all over the world.
“Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country,” he said.
Macron’s speech led to a debate on social media and prompted a backlash from Muslim activists.
Rim-Sarah Alaoune, a French academic, tweeted: “President Macron described Islam as ‘a religion that is in crisis all over the world today’. I don’t even know what to say. This remark is so dumb (sorry it is) that it does not need any further analysis … I won’t hide that I am concerned. No mention of white supremacy even though we are the country that exported the racist and white supremacist theory of the ‘great replacement’, used by the terrorist who committed the horrific massacre in #Christchurch.”
Following Macon’s comments, a teacher Samuel Paty in a Paris school showed his students cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed, which 1.5 billion Muslims across the world including about 10% French Muslims, find very offensive, “for a debate”. Teacher’s action was seen not just offensive but one that creates hate and division. Parent of a student filed a complaint against the teacher but the “debate” didn’t stop, and no action was taken.
Teacher was killed outside the school by an 18-year-old from Moscow, a judicial source said on Saturday. The alleged assailant, armed with a knife and an airsoft gun, was shot by police and later died of his injuries. According to AlJazeera, the suspect’s identity was not made public.
Teacher’s killing followed stabbing of two Muslim women wearing hijab near Eiffel Tower, the famous Paris monument. Identity of stabbers has not been revealed but reports on social media suggest that they were Whitist who also screamed abusive words after they stabbed the two women. No information about the incident was initially released by French authorities, which led to criticism from online users.
Macron reacted on twitter to teacher’s killing but remain quite about stabbing of two Muslim women.
Macron’s statement was contradictory. He said ‘’We do not accept hate speech’’ yet supported the teacher who was doing just that, being well aware that it will hurt the sentiments of 1.5 billion people. Can spreading hate be justified as free speech, or ‘’reasonable debate’’? Why will people say something while knowing that it will offend a section of their fellow humans, if the purpose was not hate, or if they were not bigots?
Why will Macron do it?
Macron’s Islamophobic statement was followed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attack suggesting French President needed treatment and “mental checks” over his attitude towards Muslims and Islam.
“What is the problem of this person called Macron with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level,” Erdogan said in a speech at a provincial congress of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in the central Turkish city of Kayseri on Saturday.
“What else can be said to a head of state who does not understand freedom of belief and who behaves in this way to millions of people living in his country who are members of a different faith? First of all, have mental checks.”
Following Erdogan’s comments, France recalled its envoy to Turkey for consultations after deeming Erdogan’s speech “unacceptable”.
According to BBC News, political leaders in Turkey and Pakistan have rounded on Mr Macron, accusing him of not respecting "freedom of belief" and marginalising the millions of Muslims in France.
"President Macron has attacked and hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe & across the world," Pakistani leader Imran Khan tweeted.
Meanwhile, there have been protests in Libya, Syria, Morocco, London and the Gaza Strip over Macron’s comments.
Some supermarket shelves had been stripped of French products in Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait. French-made hair and beauty items, for example, were not on display. In Kuwait, a major retail union has ordered a boycott of French goods.
Online, calls for similar boycotts in other Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have been circulating. A hashtag calling for the boycott of French supermarket chain Carrefour was the second-most trending topic in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy.
Is Erdogan right? Is the handsome looking Macron not so handsome inside? Does he need a mental check?
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