PARIS, KOMPAS.com – President of France Emmanuel Macron said he could understand why Muslims were shocked by the controversial cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
But in an interview with the broadcaster Al Jazeera, he said he could never accept justification by violent action BBC on Sunday (1/11/2020).
The statement came after a deadly knife attack on Thursday (29/10/2020) at a church in Nice, who killed 3 people and was thought to have been planned by the group Islam in the country in more than a month.
Disputes have grown with some Muslim countries over the issue of the Prophet Muhammad’s cartoons.
Also read: Friends for 30 Years Tell About Victims of Attacks at French Church
Some have urged boycotts of products France because Macron defends the right to use the image in the context of free speech.
In early October, a teacher was beheaded on the outskirts of Paris after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to some of his students.
Meanwhile the Tunisian news agency reported that 2 people had been detained there for questioning in connection with the attack in Nice, which was carried out by a Tunisian man.
The French Interior Minister said there would be more militant attacks.
On Saturday (31/10/2020), an Orthodox priest was shot and wounded in the city of Lyon, although no details about his attacker were known.
Also read: 3 Suspects of French Church Attack Arrested, Police Investigate Links with Perpetrators
What did Macron say?
The French president said he believed a strong reaction came from Muslim countries because people mistakenly thought he supported the cartoons, or even that they were produced by the French state.
“I understand the sentiments expressed and I respect them. But you have to understand my role now, it is to do 2 things, this call for calm and also to protect these rights,” he said, referring to the freedom of expression of those cartoons.
“Right now in the world there are people who distort Islam and in the name of this religion they claim to defend, they kill, they slaughter … today there is violence perpetrated by some extremist movements and individuals in the name of Islam.”
Macron also said a boycott of French goods filed amid outrage at the cartoon was “inappropriate” and “unacceptable”.
Also read: France: Secularism, Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Attitude of President Macron
What is the context of Macron’s statement?
Three people were stabbed to death in Nice on Thursday by a Tunisian man who arrived in the southern French city on Thursday (29/10/2020).
France immediately raised its national security awareness to the highest level, with increased security at places of worship and schools across the country.
In early October, teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded on the outskirts of Paris after showing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to some of his students.
In response to the series of attacks, Macron said France would never succumb to violence.
The issue has caused tensions with several Muslim-majority countries, with statues of French leaders burning in Bangladesh and a war of words with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who questioned Macron’s mental health.
Another string of attacks in France before the church killings
October 2020, French language teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded outside a school on the outskirts of Paris
Also read: Italian Government Accused of Bringing Murder Suspect to French Church
September 2020, two people are stabbed and seriously injured in Paris near the former Charlie Hebdo office, where militants carried out the deadly attack in 2015
October 2019, radicalized police computer operator, Mickaël Harpon, was shot dead after stabbing to death 3 officers and a civilian worker at the Paris police headquarters
July 2016, two attackers killed a pastor, Jacques Hamel, and seriously injured another hostage after storming a church on the outskirts of Rouen in northern France.
July 2016, a gunman drives a large truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing 86 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group (ISIS)
In November 2015, gunmen and suicide bombers carried out coordinated attacks on the Bataclan concert hall, main stadium, restaurants and bars in Paris, leaving 130 people dead and hundreds injured.
In January 2015, two male Islamist militants broke into Charlie Hebdo’s office and shot dead 12 people.
Also read: France is caught in the vortex of the Prophet Muhammad cartoon controversy
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