Several Arab countries are condemning French President Emmanuel Macron after he said he would propose legislation to tackle Islamist separatism and paid tribute to history teacher Samuel Paty, who was murdered after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class.
The prophet is deeply revered by Muslims and any kind of visual depiction is forbidden in Islam. The caricatures in question are seen by them as offensive and Islamophobic because they are perceived to link Islam with terrorism.
To understand the situation of France we have to look at a little bit of history.
FRANCE ISLAM HISTORY
Since 1905, France has adopted the laicite or secularism value, which forces the state to remain neutral – that is, to neither support nor stigmatise any religion. With the collapse of the French empire following World War II, France’s largely homogenous society in the metropolitan areas changed overnight and became home to many former colonial subjects and their descendants, mainly from North and West Africa. Despite being identified as a secular state, France has been time and again accused of targeting Muslims in the country. Although Macron has insisted on keeping religion separate from schools and public service, France has been accused of nudging minorities in the country.
Yet the country’s reaction towards Islam on its own turf, According to the state, French Muslims live in a counter-society. In 2004, France became the first and only European country to ban the hijab, a veil worn by some Muslim women, in public schools. A few years later, it also passed a law that banned the wearing of the niqab, or face-covering and while a 1978 law forbids the French state from collecting statistics on race, religion or ethnicity, the rise of Islamophobia in recent years has been documented by human rights and civil society groups such as the Collective against Islamophobia in France, also known as CCIF.
WHAT FRENCH PRESIDENT SAID?
French President described Islam as a “religion in crisis,” and announced a drive to separate religion from education and the public sector in the country. “The problem is an ideology which claims its own laws should be superior to those of the Republic, Further he added because he [School teacher] embodied the Republic which comes alive every day in classrooms, the freedom that is conveyed and perpetuated in schools.
Samuel Paty was killed because Islamists want our future and because they know that with quiet heroes like him, they will never have it.” President Macron has also called the incident “Islamist terrorism” this statement prompted a backlash from Muslim activists across the world.
Macron has also announced presenting a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that separates the Church from the State.
REACTION AROUND THE WORLD
In Kuwait, some supermarkets removed French products from their shelves, and there were calls in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to boycott the Carrefour grocery chain. Qatar University decided to cancel a French culture week. The Gulf Cooperation Council, a group of 6 Arab nations, called Macron’s comments “irresponsible”. 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.” Jordan and Pakistan summoned the French ambassadors to their countries for voicing displeasure.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt’s top cleric, also condemned France. And many leaders also showed they are disappointed with their tweets like Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Imran Khan and many more.
Checkout more such content at: https://gogomagazine.in/category/social/
4.5
5