France and the Muslim world

WHAT IS THE ISSUE?
  • Comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron in the aftermath of the beheading of a local schoolteacher by a teenaged extremist have caused a furore in many parts of the Muslim world.
  • The remarks, which have been perceived as “anti-Islam”, have led to calls for boycotting French brands, and hashtags such as #BoycottFrenchProducts, #MacronApologizeToMuslims and #NeverTheProphet have been trending on social media. 
WHY THE TEACHER WAS KILLED?
  • A middle school teacher in a Paris suburb, 47-year-old Samuel Paty was killed on October 17 because he took a class on freedom of expression in which he showed cartoons of Prophet Mohammad from the satire magazine Charlie Hebdo for discussion. 
HOW MACRON IS INVOLVED?
  • Macron had defended the Charlie Hebdo magazine, saying in early September that the right to free speech included the “right to blaspheme”, and pledged to fight against what he described as “Islamic separatism” in France.
  • After Paty’s murder, Macron came out in support of the teacher and commented on the bad intentions of Islamists.
OPPOSITION FROM MUSLIM WORLD
  • The first nation whose leadership openly challenged Macron’s comments was Turkey.
  • Turkey has also bickered with France over multiple issues in the recent past, including Libya, the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute and drilling rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “What is the problem of this person called Macron with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level.”
  • France reacted by recalling its ambassador in Ankara, describing Erdogan’s speech “unacceptable”, and called on the Turkish leader to “change the course” of his “dangerous” policy.
  • Erdogan called on Turks to boycott French goods. 
  • The rhetoric reverberated in other Muslim-majority countries, and many decided to follow suit.

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