Paris, SAEDNEWS, Oct. 31: French President Emmanuel Macron says he understands the feelings of Muslims who are shocked by the displaying of cartoons of Prophet Muhammad but added that the “radical Islam” he is trying to fight is a threat to all people, especially Muslims. Macron’s comments to Al Jazeera, in an exclusive interview to be aired in full on Saturday, come amid heightened tensions between the French government and the Muslim world over the cartoons, which Muslims consider to be blasphemous.
“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 said.“I will always defend in my country the freedom to speak, to write, to think, to draw,” he added.
Macron also hit out at what he described as “distortions” from political leaders, saying people were often led to believe that the caricatures were a creation of the French state. “I think that the reactions came as a result of lies and distortions of my words because people understood that I supported these cartoons,” the president said in the interview.
“The caricatures are not a governmental project, but emerged from free and independent newspapers that are not affiliated with the government,” he added.
Macron was referring to the recent republishing of the caricatures by the Charlie Hebdo magazine to mark the opening of the trial for a deadly attack against its staff in 2015 when the Paris-based publication’s cartoons were cited as a reason for the assault.
The president had defended the “right to blaspheme” under free speech rights at the time of the republication in September, weeks before he prompted 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” in order to make it more compatible with his country’s republican values.
Macron reiterated his stance about the cartoons after a French teacher, who showed the caricatures to his pupils in class during a discussion on free speech, was beheaded by an attacker on October 16. Last week, the depictions were projected on French government buildings (Source: AlJazeera).
Emanuel Macron, Shame on You!
