Erdogan called on Macron to have “mental checks” after his controversial remarks on Islam.
Rabat – The French government decided to recall its ambassador to Turkey for consultations following Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks on Emmanuel Macron. Angered with the French president’s remarks on Islam in the aftermath of Samuel Paty’s murder, Erdogan questioned Macron’s mental health. Earlier in October, Macron vowed strict measures to fight against “Islamic separatism” through a law that will also prevent imams from Muslim countries from entering France. In response, Erdogan called on Macron to have “mental checks.”
“What else can be said to a head of state who does not understand freedom of belief and who behaves in this way to millions of people living in his country who are members of a different faith? First of all, have mental checks,” Erdogan said.
Macron’s office responded to Erdogan’s remarks, describing them as “unacceptable.” A French official speaking on anonymity told AFP that “excess and rudeness are not methods. We demand that Erdogan change the course of his policy because it is dangerous in every respect." The official also cited a lack of message of support and condolences from Erdogan after the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty.
An 18-year-old student from Chechnya killed Paty after he displayed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on freedom of expression. The murder ignited anger among many French citizens, some of whom employed Islamaphobia and racism to condemn the murder. Last week, two Muslim women wearing veil were victims of a stabbing attack near the Eiffel Tower.
Muslims across the globe are responding to the Islamophobic remarks and racism on social media Muslim communities are facing following the murder. Muslims are using social networks to condemn hatred against them and denounce all insults the Prophet Muhammad of Islam is subjected to. Tension erupted in France after the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo decided to share caricatures of the prophet, with Macron backing the choice as “freedom of expression.”
Muslims are now using several hashtags to condemn insults targeting Prophet Muhammad and Islam on social networks, including “prophet_Muhammad_is_Red_Line.”Thousands of Muslims also decided to launch a campaign calling for the boycott of French products in response to Macron’s policy to crack down on mosques and Muslim communities.
Muslims translated the policy as a source of the spread of frustration and Islamophobia in France.
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