France is taking toll for the secular democracy

The Middle East is being called upon to boycott French products. Reason: the words of president Macron in the national tribute to Samuel Pati, the teacher murdered by an Islamist terrorist for showing cartoons of Muhammad to his class. “We will not stop with cartoons and drawings,” said Macron.

With Arabic and English hashtags, social media has been calling for a boycott since Friday. Two Qatari supermarket chains decided to withdraw all French products. According to AFP news agency, these include jam from the St. Louis brand, Dalfour. Also in Kuwait, photos of emptied shelves were circulated in a supermarket. According to the pictures, the Kuwaiti will have to do without the industrial snacks of the French brands Babybel, Kiri and La vache qui Ritt for the time being.

French-made ‘creams and cosmetic products’ will also be removed from the shelves, said the chairman of a distribution company Association against AFP. In addition, some 430 travel agencies in Kuwait will stop offering travel to France

The University of Qatar decided to postpone the’ week of French culture ‘ indefinitely. According to the University, France is guilty of a ‘deliberate attack on islam and its symbols’. According to the intergovernmental organisation for Islamic Cooperation, which represents the interests of Islamic countries, ‘the remarks of some French leaders may harm Franco-Islamic ties’. In Israel and Palestine, hundreds of people demonstrated against the Macron ruling. In the Gaza Strip pictures of the French president were burned.
Right to blasphemy

Since the attack on Patiy, cartoons with the Islamic Prophet Mohammed have once again been the focus of attention. It is essential that they can be shown, is the communis opinion in France. “The law is clear: we have the right to blasphemy, to criticize and mock religions,” said Macron earlier this year. During the national tribute to the Paty on the walls of the regional government building in the city of Toulouse and Montpellier, Mohammed cartoons by Charlie Hebdo and innovations.

In Islamic tradition, depiction of the prophet is forbidden. ’ We do not accept that our symbols and shrines are the victims of cheap speculation in the market for electoral politics, ‘ said Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, great-imam of the authoritative Sunni University of Al-Azhar in Egypt. According to Al-Tayyeb, France is guilty of’ an evil attack on the Prophet‘, which would be part of’a systematic campaign to involve Islam in political differences’.
Turkey

France recalled its ambassador to Turkey on Saturday for ‘consultation‘, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech saying that French president Emmanuel Macron needs ’psychiatric treatment’.

“President Erdogan’s statements are unacceptable,” said Macron’s spokesman. “Insult is no way.’

What is also involved, as the Elysée press office said, is that the Turkish government has not spoken a word of condolence after the murder of the French teacher Samuel Paty by a young Muslim extremist.

The withdrawal of the ambassador is the provisional climax of a long-suffering deterioration in relations. France and Turkey face each other in various international conflicts. Macron is also, within the European Union, the most important and fiercely representative of the wide-ranging criticism of Turkey.

In recent weeks, Turkish indignation has focused in particular on the measures taken by the French government to curb ‘Islamic separatism’ and other forms of radicalism. According to Ankara, this will only fuel racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia.

It also came up in Erdogan’s speech on Saturday at a meeting of his AK Party in the city of Kayseri. ‘What can you say of a head of State who treats millions of members of a religious minority in this way? Especially this: get your mental health checked out.”Turkish television sent out the excerpt.

Last week’s beheading in Paris led to criticism in Ankara of the way in which the French government reacted following the terrorist attack, with the attack on radical mosques and Islamic organizations. Once again, the argument that Paris is merely feeding xenophobia and exacerbating social contradictions was the argument.

The editor-in-chief worked for many years as a literary editor in Bern's leading publications. Over time, I decided to become the editor-in-chief. The main direction of materials is international relations and society.