[ad_1]
PARIS, KOMPAS.com – Three incidents of terrorist attacks occurred in France in the last month, two people were injured and four people died.
Two employees of the production company were injured as a result of being attacked with knives in Paris in late September.
A high school history teacher on the outskirts of Paris, Samuel Paty, was beheaded on Friday, October 16, after he presented cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his students while discussing the issue of freedom of expression.
Also read: Italian government accused of bringing murder suspects to the French church
Then, there was an attack in Nice, in the south of France, on Thursday (10/29/2020) that left three dead, one of the victims “almost beheaded”.
After Paty’s assassination, President Emmanuel Macron firmly said that the country would not criticize Paty’s actions that featured a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.
He also described Paty as the embodiment of the “face of the Republic.”
He defended the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, a stance that has sparked outrage in Muslim-majority countries.
France is a country that defends secularism.
State secularism or laicitis it occupied a central position in French national identity and became an inseparable part of the post-revolutionary motto, namely “liberty, equality, fraternity.”
Also read: Before taking action, the French Church terrorists had a family phone call
Based on principles laicitis In this sense, public spaces, such as classrooms and workplaces, must be free of religion. The state argues that suppressing free speech to protect the sentiments of a particular community weakens national unity.
In “Wine Country”, citizens have the right to have religion, but people also have the right not to have religion. Both are protected by the state.
In 1905, a law protecting secularism was enacted, with the aim of protecting the freedom of citizens to practice religion, but also to prevent the entry of religion into state institutions.
The law confirmed another law protecting the right to blaspheme religion, issued in 1881.
In this context, the satire magazine Charlie Hebdo may publish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad or Jesus. Due to the law, this magazine can publish cartoons without worrying that they will be prosecuted for inciting hatred.
Based on the rules of law in France, you can insult religion, but you cannot insult a person based on the religion they profess.
Also read: Family of terrorists in France: we want evidence, if true, to punish you
Samuel Paty, a professor of History and Geography in France who was beheaded by an 18-year-old boy named Abdoullakh Anzorov on Friday (10/16/2020).“Uncomfortable”
The beheading incident sparked solidarity actions for Paty across France.
Journalist BBC In Paris, Lucy Williamson said that the action that showed this national unity “actually hides the growing opposition to how the country views secularism and freedom of opinion.”
However, journalists said BBCMore and more people are uncomfortable with arguments about secularism and freedom of opinion, including the question of the freedom to create and publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Also read: Angry French citizens become targets of terrorist attacks
Teachers said they felt a change after 2015, when gunmen attacked the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine, following the magazine’s decision to publish a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.
Philosophy professor Alexandra Girat said that some students thought the decision to publish the cartoon was unacceptable.
The students said that Prophet Muhammad could not be described by a cartoon like that.
The roots of the sharp divisions over religious identity and freedom of expression are recognized as highly complex.
These roots include conflicts in other countries and the racism and social marginalization experienced by immigrant families in France.
Also read: The mother of the terrorists of the knife attack in France cries and is shocked by the actions of her son
“Islamic separatism”
Before the incident of Paty’s beheading in early October, President Macron emphasized in a speech that “secularism is the foundation of the state” and that “Islamic separatism must be addressed.”
On this occasion, Macron also announced a tougher bill to counter “Islamic separatism” and uphold secular values.
Macron said France’s Muslim community, numbering six million, “will likely form a rival society.”
Also read: Widespread anti-French demonstration in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan
To prevent this “danger” from becoming a reality, Macron proposed a number of things, including tighter oversight of schools and tighter control over funding for mosques from abroad.
Macron said that this form of sectarianism is often translated to exclude children from public schools and to use sports, culture and community activities as “an excuse to teach children about values that are incompatible with French law. “.
According to Macron, Islam “is going through a crisis in many countries, not just in France.”
Measures prepared by the government and presented to parliament by the end of the year include:
- Strict surveillance of sports organizations and other associations so as not to be an Islamic teaching facility,
- You cannot bring priests from outside of France,
- Greater oversight of the financing of mosques,
- Homeschooling restrictions.
Macron also said that France must do more to offer economic and social mobility to immigrant communities.
He added that poverty can be used by groups or people with radical opinions.
Also read: Twitnya on Islam and France deleted Twitter, Mahathir: It’s not fair
French President Emmanuel Macron (center, black mask) meets with soldiers after a knife attack on the Notre-Dame church in Nice, southern France, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. Criticism of Macron’s statements
Macron’s speech was the result of months of discussions with religious leaders and academics, journalists said. BBC di Paris, Hugh Schofield.
However, various parties criticized Macron’s speech.
There are those who believe that the proposal was deliberately introduced to attract the support of right-wing voters, before the 2022 presidential elections.
Some activists also attacked Macron’s proposal, describing it as “an attempt by the government to suppress the development of Islam.”
Also read: The last message from the mother of 3 children who were victims of the attack in the French church of Nice
Human rights activist Yasser Louati said the government’s proposal “gave wind” to far-right and anti-Muslim groups, while at the same time was “very detrimental to Muslim students” who have to study at home due to the pandemic. of the coronavirus.
Muslim figures, such as Chems-Eddine Hafiz, confirmed through newspaper columns that the so-called concept of “Islamic separatism” cannot fully target all Muslims in France.
He stated that there is a clear difference between Islam as a religion and an Islamist ideology.
Criticism also came from outside the “wine country”. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called President Macron a need for “mental attention.”
President Erdogan said: “What is this man named Macron’s problem with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs mental attention.”
Also read: After Trump, Twitter Mark and Delete Mahathir’s Twitter on France
The Turkish leader said that “no other words can be used to describe a head of state who does not understand the freedom to practice religious beliefs and act in this way with the millions of people who live in his country and who are of another religion” .
French officials called Erdogan’s statement “rude and inappropriate.”
France also attracted its ambassador to Ankara.
Turkey then called for a boycott of French products, a call that also emerged in several Middle Eastern countries.
Outside of the Middle East, there have also been demonstrations in the Palestinian territories, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
The protesters described France as “a country that exhibits Islamophobia.”
Also read: Suspect of murder in the French Church: 21-year-old Tunisian
