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Saudi Arabia’s statement comes as anger grows in the Muslim world over cartoon posts depicting the Prophet Muhammad in France.
Saudi Arabia has said it “rejects any attempt to link Islam to terrorism and condemns offensive caricatures of the Prophet” amid a growing dispute between France and some Muslim-majority nations over Paris’ support for the right to caricature the Prophet.
His government also requested that “intellectual and cultural freedom be a beacon of respect, tolerance and peace that rejects practices and acts that generate hatred, violence and extremism and are contrary to the values of coexistence,” said an official from the Ministry of Saudi Foreign Relations to the State Media. on Tuesday.
The official added that Riyadh condemned all acts of terrorism regardless of the perpetrators, in an apparent reference to the beheading of a teacher in Paris this month by a Muslim angry over the use of cartoons of the Prophet in a class on freedom of expression.
The images have sparked anger in the Muslim world.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of French products, and Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution urging the government to withdraw its envoy from Paris.
Several Arab trade associations also announced a boycott.
Protests have taken place in Iraq, Turkey and the Gaza Strip, with protesters in the Iraqi capital Baghdad burning the French flag and stepping on images of French President Emmanuel Macron.
In Saudi Arabia, calls to boycott the French supermarket chain Carrefour were trending on social media, although a representative for the company in France told Reuters news agency that he had not yet felt any impact.
The statement Tuesday from the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry did not mention the boycott calls.
On Monday, Erdogan again lashed out at his French counterpart, saying for the third time that Macron needed a mental health check, a reprimand that prompted France to withdraw its ambassador from Ankara over the weekend.
The Turkish president also urged European leaders to halt what he called Macron’s “anti-Islamic” agenda.
“European leaders with foresight and morality must tear down the walls of fear,” Erdogan said in a speech at the beginning of a week of celebrations in Turkey to mark the birthday of the prophet Muhammad.
“They must put an end to the anti-Islamic agenda and the hate campaign that Macron is leading.”
The criticism came after Macron pledged to fight “Islamist separatism”, saying it threatened to take over some Muslim communities in France.
Critics say Macron’s rhetoric fosters Islamophobia, incites hatred and alienates his country’s six million Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in Europe.
Late on Monday, the French embassy in Ankara warned French citizens living and traveling in Turkey to exercise “great vigilance” due to the “local and international” context, urging them to avoid any gathering or demonstration in public places.
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