Emmanuel Macron's remarks on Islam lead to calls for boycott of French products

DUBAI: French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks on Islam, following the beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty in Paris by a radical Islamist, has sparked outrage, with some social media users calling for a complete boycott of French products.

Paty, 47, was killed on October 16, after he discussed caricatures of Prophet Muhammad with his class, by an 18-year-old radical of Chechen origin, who was later shot dead by police.

Controversy erupted after Macron said, "Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today (not only in France)."

At a national memorial at the Sorbonne University in central Paris, Macron also praised Paty as the “face of the Republic” who “believed in knowledge”.

“Samuel Paty ... became the face of the Republic, of our will to shatter terrorists, to (do away with) Islamists, to live like a community of free citizens in our country," Macron said.

“Samuel Paty was the victim of a conspiracy of stupidity, hate, lies ... hate of the other ... hate of what we profoundly are," Macron added.

The recent remarks and his refusal to condemn the publishing of caricatures led to calls for boycotts of French goods especially in Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Responding to the boycott calls, Macron tweeted, “We will not give in, ever. We respect all differences in a spirit of peace. We do not accept hate speech and defend reasonable debate. We will always be on the side of human dignity and universal values.”

In a separate tweet, he said, "We are one."

The teacher’s killing is being investigated as an act of terrorism in France.

Meanwhile, French authorities have denounced “propaganda” against France, saying it was aimed at fanning hate at home and abroad. They demanded that the calls to boycott French products cease immediately, saying such attacks were the work of a “radical minority”.

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on October 25 that its diplomats were mobilizing to ask countries, where boycotts were being organized or hate calls issued not to back them, to provide assurances that French citizens would be safe.

“In numerous countries of the Middle East, calls to boycott French products... and more generally, calls to demonstrate against France, in sometimes hateful terms, have been relayed on social media,” the French Foreign Ministry said.

It added that such calls “denature” France's positions on freedom of expression and conscience.

Pakistan and a bloc of Muslim nations condemned the remarks by Macron.

France considers religious satire to be among the kinds of speech that fall under the freedom of expression, while many Muslims consider any perceived attack on their prophet as a grave offence.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted on October 26 that Macron chose “to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than the terrorists” and “to deliberately provoke Muslims, including his own citizens”.

The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, also condemned the “ongoing practice of running satirical caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad” and “will continue to decry justification for blasphemy of any religion in the name of freedom of expression”.