Pakistani bots and trolls have been attacking French President Emmanuel Macron for his alleged Islamophobic comments. They are trending #BoycottFrenchProducts on Twitter and other social media platforms to mark their protest against him. Ansar Abbasi, Editor of Pakistani publication The News, claimed that the entire Islamic world should protest against France. The bots from Pakistan started trending the hashtags, and soon enough, their Prime Minister jumped in to give his statement.
Imran Khan’s statements
In a video statement at UNGA, he tried to justify what has happened in France and said, “The Prophet lives in our hearts. When he is ridiculed, when he is insulted, it hurts… We human beings understand one thing: The pain of the heart is far, far, far more hurtful than physical pain. And that’s why the Muslims react to this.” He further added that people from the west do not understand the sentiments attached to the Prophet. He also compared the pain suffered by the Jewish during the holocaust to the pain induced in Muslims by insulting Prophet Muhammad.
What I had said in the UNGA last year as to why it causes Muslims pain when our Prophet PBUH is ridiculed. pic.twitter.com/yNoX7Sb3Lr
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 25, 2020
In a tweet, he said, “Hallmark of a leader is he unites human beings, as Mandela did, rather than dividing them. This is a time when Pres Macron could have put healing touch & denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation & marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation.”
Hallmark of a leader is he unites human beings, as Mandela did, rather than dividing them. This is a time when Pres Macron could have put healing touch & denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation & marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 25, 2020
The statement by the Turkish President
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out at French President Emmanuel Macron for his alleged Islamophobic comments. Erdogan had lashed out at Macron on October 6 for saying that Islam is in crisis all over the world. He stated, “What is the problem of this person called Macron with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level…”
The Turkish President further claimed, “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. First of all, have mental checks.” After his statement, France recalled its ambassador from Turkey, stating insult and outrage is not the right method.
