Pakistan deplores Macron for 'hurting sentiments of Muslims'

Prime Minister Imran Khan slammed French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday over his recent anti-Muslim attitude, criticizing him for hurting the sentiments of millions of Muslims around the world, the Geo News reported.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, the Pakistani prime minister, while presenting examples of the iconic leader Nelson Mandela, said that this is a time when President Macron could have put the healing touch and denied space to extremists rather than "creating further polarisation and marginalization that inevitably leads to radicalization".

"It is unfortunate that he has chosen to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than the terrorists who carry out violence, be it Muslims, White Supremacists or Nazi ideologists. Sadly, President Macron has chosen to deliberately provoke Muslims, incl his own citizens, through encouraging the display of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam and our Prophet (PBUH)," Imran Khan wrote on Twitter.

Condemning that by attacking Islam, Macron has hurt the sentiments of Muslims around the world, PM Imran said that the last thing the world wants or needs is further "polarisation". 

"Public statements based on ignorance will create more hate, Islamophobia, and space for extremists," he added.

The French president is being criticized with protests breaking out in several cities across the world after Macron accused Muslims of separatism and vowed not to give up cartoons depicting the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

His comments came in response to the beheading of a teacher, Samuel Paty, a 47-year-old teacher, who was attacked on his way home from the junior high school where he taught in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 40 kilometers northwest of Paris.

Following the stubborn continuation of insults to the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) in France, which unfortunately has been accompanied in some cases by the support of some French officials, Iran also condemned the insult.

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