French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country was subjected to 3 terrorist strikes by violent extremists who did so by distorting Islam and by actions that shocked the French people, stressing that France is under the shock of terrorist operations, and there is a feeling of sadness, unity and anger.
Macron added – in an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera broadcast on Saturday evening, that there are very strong reactions on the international scene to attack France on the basis of a lot of misunderstanding, so I wanted to remove the misunderstanding during my interview with Al-Jazeera.
Macron stressed that France does not have any problem with any religion in the world, and added: I tell Muslims that France is practicing Islam freely, and we are a country keen on peace and living regardless of one’s religion.
Caricatures
and about the messenger insulting to the Messenger (PBUH), Macron said we start with a misunderstanding of caricatures, in our country any journalist can express his opinion with freedom of expression and the possibility of drawing, satirical drawing and caricature, which is a law of the nineteenth century, and this law led to caricatures in newspapers and they mocked The leaders and I are on top of them and I mocked all religions … and “Charlie Abido” satirical cartoons about Christians, Jews, etc., and I understand the feelings that this provokes and respect them.
Macron called on Muslims to understand that these newspapers are not official and they are free and the French government does not draw caricatures. For me, I do not agree with the purpose of these caricatures, but I have to protect those who paint them.
The French president said: These caricatures we can condemn, and there are people in France and other countries keen on freedom of expression who respond to these cartoons and say we do not agree with them .. But we do not accept the confusion made by the media, political and religious leaders, which suggests that these caricatures are the government’s project The French, the president of the republic, or a descendant of them … I tell them: No … I am here to preserve this right and will always preserve it.
He added: I never understood that Islam does not give a political character to resorting to violence, and I respect the shock of these caricatures, and I do not accept political violence in these caricatures, nor do I personally support everything that is said and everything that it thinks or draws.
My statements are inaccurate
and the French President asserted that the translations that reached the Arab world saying that I support the caricatures offensive to the Messenger are untrue, and this statement I never said, but I said that these caricatures affect all religions and all leaders and are not directed against a religion, and I said that I protect this right and not have me as president Republic to reduce this right and this is what I want you to understand.
He said, “I think that the reactions were due to lies and distortions of my words and because people understood that I support these cartoons. And I want to say that I am in favor that a person thinks or draws in my country .. and the solution is not to justify violence by shocking some.”
He added: Catholics and Jews in our country were shocked by the drawings. When the matter touches you may not like it (these drawings), but this does not justify violence … and I stress that freedom of expression is much greater than mere caricatures, which is a reality and we should not fall into the circle of provocation and counter-provocation. , And these drawings were drawn in France according to a French law from the nineteenth century, so who am I to tell them that religion has a problem with this drawing to prevent it .. I cannot do that and this is not my role.
The French President said: I tell Muslims that there are things in your countries that my citizens do not like, so will they attack you? We must get to know each other and know where our laws came from.
Anti-Semitism
On the prevention of anti-Semitism, Macron said: France is combating anti-Semitism and racism in all its forms, which are things prohibited by law, but all forms of racism are condemned and legally prohibited, but also one can draw caricatures and criticize the Jewish religion as he criticizes all religions .. So there is no double standard. .
He added: We acknowledge the crimes of the Nazis, and all things, including the crimes we committed, slavery and colonialism, and the French government is not the one who writes history, but rather they are the historians.
The boycott campaign
and about the campaign to boycott French products, he said: This is an inappropriate thing and I condemn it .. But this campaign is the work of the private groups because they did not understand and based on lies about the caricatures and sometimes from the actions of some leaders, which is unacceptable, and I issued statements to calm the situation ..
He added I tell many leaders that the press is free in France and in many of the boycotting countries it is no longer a free press .. Just as when a newspaper says something, this is not the government’s position and the decision to boycott a country. This is insane and is not true in our country and it is not true in the free world.
The French president said: All political and religious leaders who do not condemn completely clearly any form of violence against France, but are directly or indirectly responsible for the violence against French subjects at home and abroad .. and I make a call to officials that in recent days I have seen many people saying France is irresponsible, they confirm lies and become complicit with the worst.
Muslims are victims and
the French President said: When we look at the numbers, more than 80% of the victims of terrorism are Muslims, and they are the first victims of terrorism that is committed in the name of Islam. By “radical Islam” I mean extremists who convert religion to committing violence, and France has millions of Muslims who are full citizens. Citizenship, but it is violent extremists who distort Islam and justify violence on our land in France, which I have reaffirmed.
He added: We do not have any problem with Islam, and we are one of the countries that translated the Qur’an at the Sorbonne University and we are one of the first countries to open a large mosque, which is the Paris Mosque, and therefore our battle is against terrorism and violent extremism, which justifies violence in the name of Islam.
Regarding his statement that “Islam is a religion that lives today in a deep crisis all over the world,” Macron said, “What I wanted to say is very clear, which is that there is violence practiced today by some groups and extremist individuals in the name of Islam. Of course this is a problem for Islam because Muslims are the first victims. And I mentioned in numbers more than 80% of the victims are Muslims, and this is a problem for all of us, and therefore all religions have gone through such a crisis in their history. “
He added, “The crisis is within our society, because in many places there are individuals who feel that they are incomprehensible and commit the worst in the name of religion, and often those who do not know this religion well with the complicity of those who know this religion better than them or rather claim to know it.”
Macron released a message of reassurance to the Muslims of France, saying, “My project or our project, on the basis of which the French elected me, which is the same as France’s historic project, its primary mission carries a message of peace between religions, because it is a message of knowledge and building of reason.”
