Emmanuel Macron To Muslims: I Hear Your Anger But Won’t Accept Violence

French President Emmanuel Macron said that he could understand if Muslims were shocked by cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. He added that violence was unacceptable and he’d defend his nation’s freedoms. Macron spoke as France faced terrorist attacks at home and boycott calls in Muslim countries.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Macron said, “I understand the feelings this stirs, I respect them But I want you to understand my role: my role is to calm things down as I’m doing here, and to protect those rights.”

“But I would never accept that the cartoons justify violence…I will always defend in my country the freedom to say, to write, to think, to draw. Deciding to boycott a country, a people, because a newspaper said something in our country, is crazy,” Macron said.

France has been facing a slew of killings by Islamist extremists ever since satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons ridiculing the Muslim prophet. Earlier this month, an assailant beheaded a teacher in Paris who had showed the cartoons of the Muslim prophet in a class discussion.

Recently a 21-year-old Brahim Issaoui, killed a Brazilian woman and a French woman in the attack in the Notre-Dame Basilica on Thursday morning. Issaoui was shot by police multiple times and is currently in a grave condition in hospital.

The latest furor in France came after Macron said that Islam was facing a crisis. The extremists have distorted the religion’s teachings. The comment sparked condemnation across the Muslim world. Calls for a boycott of French products were spread in Muslim dominated countries.

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