Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has written a letter to the leaders of Muslim countries calling on them to act collectively against growing Islamophobia in France and elsewhere across the West.
"The recent statements at the leadership level and incidents of desecration of the Holy Koran are a reflection of the increase in Islamophobia that is spreading in European countries," Khan said in the letter on Wednesday.
Also in a speech in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, Khan said that the lives of Muslims have been made difficult in France, and Western countries should consider the sensitivities of devotees.
The Pakistani premier accused European countries of ridiculing the holy prophet, allowing discrimination against Muslims and refusing to let Muslim women wear decent Islamic clothing.
Khan has already lambasted French President Emmanuel Macron for promoting Islamophobia by “attacking Islam,” after the latter criticized Islam and defended the publication of defamatory cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The Pakistani premier, in a number of tweets, said on Sunday that “This is a time when Pres Macron could have put healing touch & denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarization & marginalization that inevitably leads to radicalization.”
Khan’s comments follows controversial remarks the French president made last week after an 18-year-old assailant, identified as Abdullakh Anzorov, beheaded history French teacher Samuel Paty outside his school in a Paris suburb.
Paty had raised controversy and provoked anger over showing the defamatory cartoons. The assailant was shot dead by the police soon after the killing.
Macron had said about his fighting against “Islamist separatism,” which according to him threatens to take control in some Muslim communities around France. He also said that Paty was decapitated because “Islamists” wanted “our future.”
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday that the French ambassador in Islamabad had been summoned to be given a diplomatic protest against Macron's "irresponsible remarks".
Macron has been facing a growing backlash in the Islamic world over defending offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and ordering a crackdown on Islam and its followers in the European country.
Muslims in various parts of the world have been holding protest rallies in recent days to vent their anger at Macron’s Islamophobic statements, calling for a boycott of France's products and an apology from its head of state.
In parallel with the popular shows of outrage, some governments summoned French envoys, while others issued strongly-worded statements in condemnation of Macron.
No comments:
Post a Comment