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By Heru Asprihanto and Adi Kurniawan
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Thousands of angry Muslims protested in front of the French embassy in the Indonesian capital on Monday with banners calling French President Emmanuel Macron the “real terrorist” and demanding the immediate expulsion of the country’s ambassador.
Joining the global protest over Macron’s comments on Islam, protesters in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation demanded that the French leader withdraw his words and apologize to Muslims around the world.
“Inshallah (God willing), Muslims forgive, but if he doesn’t withdraw all his words and cartoons and apologizes, Inshallah, he will always be looked down upon (by the Muslim world),” said Nazaruddin, a 70-year-old protester. Reuters.
Dressed in black and white prayer caps and face masks, protesters joined Monday’s protest in central Jakarta carrying banners with a diabolical caricature of the French president’s face, red with pointed ears, with the words “Macron is the real terrorist. “
The protesters waved Islamic flags as they called for the expulsion of the French ambassador and a boycott of French products.
In recent weeks, the French president has enraged Muslims by describing Islam as a “religion in crisis throughout the world” and by vehemently defending freedom of expression that some have deemed blasphemous and inflammatory.
Macron’s comments came before and after two recent attacks in France.
Last week, a Tunisian wielding a knife and shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in the French city of Nice.
Two weeks earlier, an 18-year-old teacher beheaded a teacher, who was apparently furious that a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad had been shown in class.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, better known by his nickname “Jokowi”, has condemned both the recent attack in Nice and Macron’s comments, which he said had “insulted Islam” and “damaged the unity of Muslims everywhere” .
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry convened the French ambassador on Tuesday to discuss the comments.
(Written by Kate Lamb; Editing by Giles Elgood)
