PM Pakistan accuses Macron of attacking Islam by ‘encouraging’ blasphemous cartoons and asks Facebook CEO to ban Islamophobic content
- Pakistan strongly condemns systematic Islamophobic campaign under the garb of freedom of expression.
ISLAMABAD (HQ News) – The Prime Minister (PM) of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Imran Khan said on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron has “attacked Islam” by encouraging the display of cartoons depicting the Prophet MUHAMMED (Peace Be Upon HIM).
Later Imran Khan appealed to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ban to ban Islamophobia just as Facebook has banned questioning or criticising the holocaust.
Imran Khan warned that allowing Islamophobic content on Face Book portal will increase in radicalisation amongst Muslims.
My letter to CEO Facebook Mark Zuckerberg to ban Islamophobia just as Facebook has banned questioning or criticising the holocaust. pic.twitter.com/mCMnz9kxcj
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 25, 2020
An official letter was sent to the Facebook CEO by the prime minister office of Pakistan in this regard.
The letter says that “growing Islamophobia” was encouraging extremism and violence across the world, especially through social media platforms such as Facebook.
Imran Khan demanded Facebook’s CEO to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam on Facebook that he has put in place for the Holocaust.
Imran Khan’s response come days after Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher beheaded by an Islamist radical who wanted to avenge the use of cartoons depicting the Prophet MUHAMMED (Peace Be Upon HIM) in a class on freedom of expression.
“Sadly, President Macron has chosen to deliberately provoke Muslims, incl his own citizens, through encouraging the display of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam & our Prophet PBUH,” Khan said on Twitter.
In Islam any depiction of the Prophet MUHAMMED (Peace Be Upon HIM) is deemed as blasphemous while Macron stated the teacher was a hero and that Islamists were a threat to France creating outrage amongst Muslims all over the world.
“By attacking Islam, clearly without having any understanding of it, President Macron has attacked & hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe & across the world,” the Pakistani PM said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also issued strong comments against Macron |referring Macron as insane| after which France recalled its ambassador from Ankara.
In a severe blasphemous act the cartoons of the Prophet were first published in 2005 by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which also created massive outrage all over the Muslims in the world particularly Pakistan – last month when the cartoons were re-published by the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo the massive protests resumed again.
Pakista’s Foreign Office, in a statement issued on Sunday, said Pakistan condemns in the strongest manner the systematic resurgence of blasphemous acts of republication of caricatures of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon HIM) and desecration of the Holy Quran by certain irresponsible elements in some developed countries.
The Foreign Office of Pakistan added that we are further alarmed at highly disturbing statements by certain politicians justifying such heinous acts under the garb of freedom of expression and equating Islam with terrorism, for narrow electoral and political gains.
The Foreign Office further said that dissemination of racist ideas, defamation and ridiculing of other religions, denigration of religious personalities, hate speech, and incitement to violence are not allowed expressions of this fundamental freedom and such acts are the very basis of horrendous terrorist acts like Christ Church, thereby imperilling future prospects of peace and harmony among civilizations.