Can France Afford Hostile Relations with Muslim World?

French exports to Muslim countries in 2019 had gigantic trade volumes with some $6.66B with Turkey, $5.51B with Algeria, $4.30B with Qatar, $ 2.58B with Egypt, and $3.34B with Saudi Arabia.

Web DeskOctober 26, 2020

WEB DESK: Since Islamophobia has escalated across the globe in the past recent years and there has been recrimination with one blaming the other for its cause, the desecration of holy figures has remained a matter of concern.

The latest anti-Muslim remarks by the President of Europe’s second-largest economy, France, has escalated outrage among the followers of the faith even in his own country.

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to crack down on radical Islamism in France after the country went into a state of shock after the beheading of Samuel Paty, who was a history professor, on October 16.

Paty had taught a class on freedom of expression during which he used controversial caricatures of the Last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Later, he was beheaded by a Muslim which sparked outrage on the French land following which Macron made the aforementioned comments.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rebuked his French counterpart over his remarks and said that he needed some sort of mental treatment over his attitude towards Muslims. France called back its ambassador from Turkey following Erdogan’s comments, escalating tensions between the countries.

The French foreign affairs ministry called for the Muslim countries to end their calls to boycott French products. The ministry termed these calls as baseless and tantamount to attacks on France. It accused that such demands were being pushed by a radical minority.

Notably, French exports to Muslim countries in 2019 had gigantic trade volumes with some $6.66B with Turkey, $5.51B with Algeria, $4.30B with Qatar, $ 2.58B with Egypt, and $3.34B with Saudi Arabia. Under these circumstances, it’s a threatening situation for France if these countries opt for a boycott of its products particularly in the post coronavirus lockdown situation when the economies are in a recovery phase.

Social media platforms including Facebook flooded with anti-Muslim content after anti-Muslim demeanor.

The sentimental harm caused to the Muslim population which ultimately led to the beheading of the professor was condemned by the Muslim population itself. But, the reaction from the radicals defending the act of the professor as freedom of expression and exonerating him of his vicious move is also unjust.

By deliberately sparking outrage using an offensive example, the beheaded professor was on the wrong too and so was the man who committed the crime against him. Amidst both extremes, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has come up with a solution that could have farfetched results if implemented.

He wrote a letter to the Facebook Owner Mark Zuckerberg and requested him to take steps to remove Islamophobic content circulating on the social media platform. Imran Khan cited Zuckerberg’s step to ban posts that criticize or questions the Holocaust and urged him to initiate a similar program against Muslims.

The western world needs to realize that an offensive approach from the leaders that have an impact around the world would promote Islamophobia. The reaction could have been otherwise and the French President Macron could have spoken of something that had created unity among the communities rather than widening the gaps.

If this continued, the aim of a world with inter-faith harmony among the communities atop will always seem beyond reach.

Web DeskOctober 26, 2020