Hashtags in support of French President Emmanuel Macron on Indian Twitter as his comments cause outrage among Muslims.
As Muslims around the world protest and expand their calls for a boycott of French products over President Emmanual Macron’s comments on Islam and depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, hashtags with a different message are trending in Hindu-majority India .
#IStandWithFrance and #WeStandWithFrance were among the top trends on Indian Twitter on Monday and Tuesday, with thousands of Indian users expressing solidarity with France.
Macron has sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world by accusing French Muslims of “separatism” and describing Islam as “a religion in crisis throughout the world.”
The issue escalated after Macron said his country would not “give up the cartoons” of the Prophet Muhammad after the murder of a French teacher who showed them to his class.
That sparked outrage in the Muslim world, with protesters in several Muslim-majority nations, including Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh, calling for a boycott of French products and demanding the expulsion of French ambassadors from their capitals.
Whatever France is doing against radical Islamic terrorism is great to me, as supported by a citizen of Bhartiya. #Emmanuel_Macron for fighting this radical terrorism, mazhabis we should thank them. 🙏
Bharat supports France 🇮🇳❤️🇫🇷#welldoneFrance#IStandWithFrance pic.twitter.com/k5TxAvMKWZ
– || Bhāratavarṣa || (@InfoVedic) October 27, 2020
Yet in India, where critics say anti-Muslim sentiments have intensified since the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, many supported the French leader.
“Tolerance should also be secular. #IStandWithFrance. Well done, French President, ”tweeted Parvesh Sahib Singh, Member of Parliament for the BJP.
Earlier this year, India received five French-made Rafale fighter jets, the first batch of a controversial $ 9.4 billion deal with France signed in 2016.
Other hashtags related to Macron’s comments trending on Indian Twitter on Tuesday included #WellDoneMacron and #MacronTHEHERO.
Anti-Muslim sentiments in India
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of applying anti-Muslim policies, the most recent being a controversial citizenship law that excludes the community.
The Indian government defends the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying it aims to protect persecuted minorities in neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Protests over the law earlier this year led to the worst religious violence in New Delhi in decades, killing dozens of people, mostly Muslim, and displacing thousands.
Many Muslims have been charged under a strict anti-terrorism law after the Delhi violence, jailed and denied on bail.
If a Christian / Hindu / Jewish teacher were to show a cartoon of Mary / Krishna / Jesus and then be beheaded by a Christian / Hindu / Jew, it would of course be an act of radical Christianity / Hinduism / Judaism.
Why is Islam an exception? #WeWithFrance #Emmanuel_Macron
– Priyanka Deo Jain (@priyankadeo) October 27, 2020
Last week, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, pointed to three “problematic” Indian laws, including the CAA, that have led to the arrest of activists.
Since 2014, dozens of Muslims have also been lynched by Hindu mobs on suspicion of slaughter of cows, considered sacred by many Hindus.
Human rights groups have criticized India for a low conviction rate in cases of hate crimes against Muslims.
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