Emmanuel Macron: “There Are People Who Distort Islam, Claim To Defend”

Some people distort Islam and claim to defend, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday in an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera TV Channel.

 French President Emmanuel Macron asserted that he understands the feelings of Muslims who are shocked by the displaying of cartoons of Prophet Mohamed but added that the “radical Islam” he is trying to fight is a threat to all people, especially Muslims.

“Of course this is a problem for Islam because Muslims are the first victims. More than 80% of the victims of terrorism are Muslims, and this is a problem for all of us.”

“The caricatures are not a governmental project, but emerged from free and independent newspapers that are not affiliated with the government”, Macron added.

“I understand the sentiments being expressed and I respect them. But you must understand my role right now, it’s to do two things: to promote calm and also to protect these rights”. Macron explained in the interview.

“Today in the world there are people who distort Islam and in the name of this religion that they claim to defend,  they kill, they slaughter … today there is violence practised by some extremist movements and individuals in the name of Islam.”

Macron reiterated his stance about the cartoons after a French teacher, who showed the caricatures that insulted Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) to his pupils in class during a discussion on free speech, was beheaded by a Chechen teen attacker on October 16. Last week, the depictions were projected on French government buildings.

The prophet is deeply revered by Muslims and any kind of visual depiction is forbidden in Islam. The caricatures in question are seen by them as offensive and Islamophobic because they are perceived to link Islam with “terrorism”.

Macron had defended the “right to blaspheme” under free speech rights at the time of the republication in September, weeks before he prompted a backlash from Muslim activists on October 2 when he claimed in a speech that Islam was “in crisis globally” and announced his plan “to reform Islam” to make it more compatible with his country’s republican values.

While Muslims in France have condemned the killing of the teacher, they have also expressed fears of collective punishment amid a government crackdown targeting Islamic organisations and attacks by vigilante groups on mosques.

Meanwhile, Macron’s comments stirred anger across the Muslim world, leading tens of thousands of people – from Pakistan to Bangladesh to the Palestinian territories – to join anti-France protests. As a debate over Islam and freedom of expression deepened in recent weeks, many officials and protesters in Muslim-majority countries issued calls for a boycott of French-made products.

France was sent into further shock on Thursday when a knife-wielding Tunisian man killed three people at a church in the Mediterranean city of Nice. That same day, a Saudi man stabbed and lightly wounded a security guard at the French consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Leaders of many Muslim countries offered their condolences to France after the Nice attack and expressed their solidarity as they condemned the violence.