Iran’s outcry against Macron and silence against the beheading of French teacher

The French ambassador’s summoning in Iran and staging protest against President Macron’s remarks by the Islamic Republic’s political and judicial officials are among the critical reactions to the French president’s defense of freedom of speech. But The protest against the beheading of the French teacher is missed. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran summoned the French ambassador in the complaint to the French President Emmanuel Macron’s support for freedom of expression and the publication of the Muslim Prophet’s cartoons. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Europe declared the French authorities’ actions as “unacceptable” and “provocative” and decried any insult hurled at Muslim Prophet. He said it is deplorable to spread Islamophobia and hatred in the name of freedom of expression considered to develop communication, empathy, and peaceful coexistence among societies. At the ceremony, Macron said that the French government stands with all those publishing and demonstrating these cartoons to defend freedom of opinion. He emphasized that even if others retreat from supporting the freedom of thought, France will continue to protect secular values.

In his classroom, Samuel Petty, a history teacher who was later beheaded by a young Islamic extremist from Chechnya, showed his students the Muslim prophet Muhammad’s caricatures to explain freedom of speech. Extreme reactions from the leaders and people of Muslim countries were provoked by Macron’s remarks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, and Moroccan Foreign Minister were among those opposing Macron. In many Arab countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and the Gaza Strip, French goods are boycotted by some stores. Iranian authorities lodge these complaints while they have remained silent against the brutal murderer of a French teacher by Chechen Islamists.

Source: DW Persian