President Macron faces backlash from Islamic nations in the wake of French terror attacks

France’s president has reacted with fury to recent terror attacks, but it’s France which is facing a backlash.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s response to his country’s recent terror attacks has led to a huge backlash from Muslim leaders around the world and has prompted boycotts and violent protests.

Last week, an 18-year-old Islamic extremist beheaded a high school teacher over his disrespectful portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad in his classroom.

Earlier this week, a Muslim terrorist killed three people in a church in Nice, attempting to behead one of them.

In an address to the nation, Mr Macron blamed the attacks on “Islamist separatism” and ”the creation of a (Muslim) counter-society” in France.

He said the growing Muslim presence was a danger to France because it held its own laws above all others.

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We will not give in, ever.
We respect all differences in a spirit of peace. We do not accept hate speech and defend reasonable debate. We will always be on the side of human dignity and universal values.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 25, 2020

Mr Macron further said that some Muslim parents kept their children out of school, group sports and community activities as a “pretext to teach principles that do not conform to the laws of the republic”.

To stop this, the president announced his plans to pass a legislative proposal that would essentially ban homeschooling for children of all ages and prevent foreign-trained imams from leading French mosques.

The goal, the president said, was “to build an Islam in France that can be compatible with the Enlightenment”.

French President Emmanuel Macron has had to respond to two terror attacks in his nation in as many weeks. Picture: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP

The comments were slammed as racist by world leaders, including Pakistan’s prime minister, and the presidents of Turkey and Egypt.

PM Imran Khan of Pakistan said Macron was blaming all Muslims and not just extremists, writing in a tweet that Mr Macron chose “to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than the terrorists”.

He also accused Mr Macron of “deliberately (provoking) Muslims, including his own citizens”.

It is unfortunate that he has chosen to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than the terrorists who carry out violence, be it Muslims, White Supremacists or Nazi ideologists. Sadly, President Macron has chosen to deliberately provoke Muslims, incl his own citizens,

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 25, 2020

Egypt‘s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi was also outraged, saying that Mr Macron’s actions had offended 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.

“We have the right for our feelings not to be hurt and for our values not to be hurt,” he said.

Turkey’s reaction was more extreme. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott on all French goods.

He also said Mr Macron must have been mentally ill to make such comments.

“What is the problem of this person called Macron with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level,” Mr Erdogan said.

“What else can be said to a head of state who does not understand freedom of belief and who behaves in this way to millions of people living in his country who are members of a different faith?”

It wasn’t just leaders of Islamic nations that were annoyed; citizens began to take it out on French citizens.

Pakistani Sunni Muslims burn a French flag during a protest in Karachi on October 30, 2020, following French President Emmanuel Macron's comments. Picture: by Asif Hassan / AFP

Palestinians gather to protest against the French president, in the al-Aqsa mosque compound, in the Old City of Jerusalem on October 30, 2020. Picture: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP

Yesterday, the Associated Press estimated that around 2000 people tried to march toward the French embassy in Islamabad. Pakistan’s capital. They were pushed back by police firing tear gas.

A Saudi Arabian man was arrested in Jeddah after attacking and injuring a guard with a “sharp tool” at the French consulate on Thursday, Saudi state TV reported.

The French embassy said in a statement they were subjected to an “attack by knife which targeted a guard”. The guard was mostly unharmed and he will survive the attack.

“The French embassy strongly condemns this attack against a diplomatic outpost which nothing could justify,” a statement said.

Over in Syria’s Raqqa, an old stronghold of the Islamic State, protesters were heard chanting “Death to France”. They were also hailing the terrorist attackers as heroes and said beheading was an apt punishment for “blasphemers”.