Paris: France warned its citizens living or travelling in several Muslim-majority countries to take extra security precautions as anger surged over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
A rift between France and Muslim nations is growing after French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this month that Islam was in “crisis”.
From proposing stricter laws to uphold the principle of secularism to using terms like “Islamic separatism” and Islamic terror attacks”, Macron’s comments have evoked severe backlash from countries like Pakistan, Turkey, Iran among others.
France’s foreign ministry issued safety advice to French citizens in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iraq and Mauritania, advising them to exercise caution. “They should stay away from any protests over the cartoons and avoid any public gatherings.”
Tension escalated after French teacher Samuel Paty was killed on October 16 near his school in broad daylight. He had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to his students. Since the crime, French officials were perceived as linking the killing to Islam.
While eulogizing the teacher on October 21, Macron declared that “France will not give up cartoons”.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Macron and even questioned the mental state of his French counterpart.
As the discourse seeped to the general populace on social media, many accused France of using secularism to persecute Muslim minorities in France and #BoycottFrenchProducts trended on Twitter.
