As Muslims around the world chant to ban French products, the grand mufti from the southern Russian republic of Chechnya has joined this crowd among other prominent Muslim scholars. Several Muslim figures have voiced disappointment at the President of France for perpetuating blasphemous content. These remarks by the French President were made after the murder of a French schoolteacher (read about this incident here). Chechen mufti Salakh Mezhiyev stated on the Chechen Spiritual Board of Muslims’ Instagram account Monday that Macron is the No.1 terrorist in the world.
Macron earns the title of “No.1 terrorist in the world”
“Macron, you are terrorist No. 1 in the world.”
The backlash from the Islamic world came about when the French President Emmanuel Macron responded to the beheading of Samuel Paty, a history teacher. The teacher was murdered by a Chechen extremist after the teacher showed students cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a history lesson regarding freedom of speech. In response to this incident, President Macron vowed that France “will not give up cartoons.” Chechen mufti Salakh Mezhiyev said, “By insulting our Prophet, you insult all Prophets (peace be upon them) and all religions,” Mezhiyev emphasized, accusing Macron of “ordering” the display of Prophet Muhammad cartoons on “all government buildings.”
The French President Macron responded to the situation in an extremely insensitive manner which earned him the title of “No.1 terrorist in the world.” Although there is no evidence that the President issued orders directly, but according to rumors the president himself issued orders for the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to be displayed on local government buildings. The blasphemous cartoons were projected on buildings located in Southern France after a memorial service was held for Samuel Paty last week. The memorial was also attended by President Macron himself.
Islamic world reacts
The depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in form of cartoons is considered offensive by Muslims. However, in France, such cartoons have become a medium of propagating secular tradition. The French people pride themselves in upholding the tradition of secularism that dates back to the Revolution. Samuel Paty had shown his students examples of the cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad. These cartoons led to over 12 people being massacred at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo during 2015.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader also reiterated Mezhiyev’s comments on his own social media profile. He wrote that Macron “is starting to look like a terrorist. If you call [the murderer] a terrorist, then you Macron are 100 times worse because you’re inducing terrorism,” Kadyrov added. “You can safely call yourself the leader and mastermind of terrorism in your country.”
Mezhiyev also maintained that Paty was “well aware of his actions”, he further accused Macron of “deliberately inciting Muslims toward provocative actions by turning the mad professor into a ‘national hero’.”
