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After the brutal murder of a teacher in France, President Macron defended the exhibition of Mohammed cartoons. Since then, the outrage in many Muslim countries has been so great that France has to warn its citizens.
After a suspected Islamist murdered a history teacher, France has asked its citizens living abroad to be more careful. The French Foreign Ministry announced new security advisories for Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Iraq and Turkey on its website.
The French should stay away from protests against the publication of Muhammad cartoons and avoid public gatherings, he said. “Extreme vigilance is recommended, especially when traveling and in places visited by tourists or expatriate communities.”
It is said that the teacher was beheaded by cartoons
Teacher Samuel Paty was attacked and beheaded by the suspected Islamist in a Paris suburb in mid-October. The 18-year-old suspect with Chechen roots was shot and killed by police. According to the investigation, he killed Paty because the teacher used cartoons of Mohammed in a class on the right to freedom of expression.
After the assassination, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would step up measures against conservative Islam, which threatens to undermine French values. Cartoons are likely to continue to be published in France. Later, several Muslim governments severely criticized Macron and called for a boycott of French products, especially Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Iran now agrees with this criticism as well. Iranian state television reported that the Foreign Ministry called a French diplomat and protested that Macron was defending the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. It is reckless and regrettable for France to allow hatred of Islam under the pretext of freedom of expression.
Planning legal action against “Charlie Hebdo”
The Abu Dhabi-based Council of Muslim Wise Men even announced that it would take legal action against the satirical newspaper “Charlie Hebdo”, which appears in France, and against “all those who offend Islam.” A council of internationally active lawyers should be commissioned with this task, the committee announced. The editorial team of “Charlie Hebdo” had been the target of an Islamist-motivated terrorist attack following the publication of the Muhammad cartoons in January 2015.
The Grand Imam of Al Ashar chairs the Council of Muslim Wise Men, which is represented by Muslim dignitaries from various countries. The announced legal measures are said to be extended to all who violate the “sacred symbols” of Islam. Freedom of expression must find its limits where religions become a plaything for political forces and “electoral propaganda,” he said.
EU Commission condemns Erdogan’s call for a boycott
Meanwhile, the EU Commission criticized Erdogan’s call to boycott French products. The EU’s agreements with Turkey, such as the customs union, provide for free trade in goods, a spokesman said. “Calls to boycott the products of a Member State are contrary to the spirit of these commitments.” They would pull Turkey, a candidate for EU membership, “even further away from the European Union.”
Turkey has been linked to the EU through an association agreement since 1963. Since 1995 there is also a customs union between the two parties. Furthermore, Turkey has been a candidate for EU membership since 1999. However, accession talks were de facto suspended due to mass arrests following a failed military coup in Turkey in 2016.
