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In Istanbul gingen einige Demonstranten gegen Frankreichs Präsidenten Macron auf die Straße.
© dpa
By Mirjam Schmitt, Amelie Richter and Johannes Schmitt-Tegge, dpa
Paris – Following the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron, a new dispute looms over the cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Several Arab countries have initiated boycotts against France. Merchants from Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar brought French goods out of their stores. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also launched a verbal attack on Macron. He accused the French president of Islamophobia, doubted his mental health and called Macron, among other things, a case of illness that should be examined.
Paris called its ambassador from Ankara in protest, an incident that had never happened before, as the Elysee circles confirmed. The background is Macron’s remarks on Wednesday. He had defended freedom of expression and had sided with those who want to show or publish cartoons. France will not “do without cartoons and drawings, even if others withdraw from them,” Macron said at a memorial ceremony honoring the murdered teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown cartoons of Muhammad in class and was beheaded on the street. Islamic tradition forbids representing the prophet.
Macron defended his position on freedom of expression on Twitter that night. Hate speech is not accepted and reasonable debate is defended. “We will always be on the side of human dignity and basic values.” The head of state also spread the message in Arabic and English. “Our history is that of the struggle against tyranny and fanaticism. We will continue,” he wrote in French.
The Muhammad cartoons had already sparked violent protests in the Islamic world several times. Relations between the Muslim world and France could deteriorate. Erdogan’s verbal attack on Macron also exacerbates bilateral tensions between NATO partners Turkey and France, which are already at odds on numerous issues.
Behavior “damages Muslim-French relations”
In light of Macron’s remarks, the influential Al-Azhar University in Cairo warned against a campaign against Islam. In Kuwait, 50 consumer cooperatives told the newspaper Al-kabas He claimed that they had removed all French products from their stores. Also in Qatar, supermarket chains have announced that they will remove French products from their shelves until further notice. Videos could be seen on social media of employees at a supermarket in Amman, the Jordanian capital, removing French dairy products from refrigerated shelves. Users spread the French brand names on the internet and called for a boycott, and the hashtags were also circulating.
France called for an immediate end to calls for boycotts. These would distort the positions defended by France in favor of freedom of conscience, freedom of expression and religion, as well as the rejection of any call to hatred, he said in a statement from the Foreign Ministry. The statements are being instrumentalized and politicized by a radical minority.
In early 2006, more than 150 people died in violent protests against the Muhammad cartoons. The trigger at that time was the cartoons of the Danish newspaper “Jyllands-Posten”. In 2015, twelve people were killed in an attack on the French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”, which also featured cartoons of the Prophet. For devout Muslims, films or images depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a person are offensive and a form of blasphemy.
The Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the publication of satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet. Such behavior “damages Muslim-French relations.” The Grand Imam of Cairo, Ahmed al-Tajib, spoke of a systematic campaign to force Islam into political struggle. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said posts hurt Muslims’ sentiments Pakistan’s prime minister, in a series of tweets, accused Macron of Islamophobia: “President Macron has attacked and hurt the feelings of millions of Muslims in Europe and around the world, “he wrote.
The will to awaken hatred
“What kind of problem does this person named Macron have with Islam and Muslims?” Erdogan asked at an event on Saturday. Macron was in psychological treatment, the Turkish president added. His French counterpart did not understand freedom of belief. Erdogan also called a police raid on a Berlin mosque on Wednesday anti-Islamic due to alleged crown subsidy fraud.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said there was a desire to incite hatred against France. This was also expressed in direct insults against Macron from “the highest level of the Turkish state”. Paris also criticized that the Turkish side had not officially condemned the teacher’s murder or solidarity with France. Turkey rejected the accusation tonight. The Turkish ambassador in Paris expressed regret, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that Turkey regretted the “murder” of the teacher, “as a country that has been fighting for years against all forms of terrorism and violence.” . as victims of similar events, it was said.
Erdogan’s verbal attacks on Macron are not new. Last November, the Turkish president questioned the Frenchman’s mental health. At the time, Macron had witnessed “brain death” to the NATO defense alliance. Erdogan later said that Macron should have his own brain death tested.
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