Turkey responds to Macron’s “dangerous” statements about Islam

These criticisms of Macron’s plan, which want to “liberate Islam in France from external influences,” add to the criticism of the second consecutive day between the French President and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

And Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted, saying that Macron’s “dangerous and provocative vision … encourages Islamophobia and anti-Muslim populism.”

The spokesman for the ruling Turkish Justice and Development Party, Omar Celik, said on Monday that French President Emmanuel Macron supports hate crimes, not democracy and human rights, stressing that Macron’s talk of “French Islam reflects a dictatorial approach and utter ignorance.”

“Macron’s view only provides ideological ammunition for terrorist groups such as ISIS,” he added.

The spokesman for the Justice and Development stressed that the French President’s speech “does not respect the law and freedom of belief.”

He stressed that Macron’s statement about the bill reflects a very “gloomy” mentality, indicating that the growing xenophobia and Islamophobia should be a goal of Macron.

He continued, “Through this approach, Macron supports hate crimes, not democracy and human rights.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said, on Sunday, that Macron’s initiative would have “dire consequences instead of solving France’s problems.”

Macron delivered a speech, Friday, in which he declared that France must confront what he called “Islamic isolationism,” claiming that it seeks to “establish a parallel system” and “deny the republic.”

He added, “In this radical Islamic tendency, a declared intention to replace a systematic structure to circumvent the laws of the Republic, establish a parallel system based on different values, and develop a different organization of society,” considering that Islam “is a religion that today is experiencing a crisis everywhere in the world.”

He announced several measures, such as forcing any association requesting state assistance to sign a secular charter, imposing tight oversight on private religious schools and strictly limiting home schooling.

Macron’s comments come eighteen months before the French presidential elections, in which he is expected to face a challenge from the right.

Macron’s statements were met with strong condemnation in Islamic countries, and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, tweeted in French and English as well as Arabic to respond to these statements.

The Islamic Research Council of Al-Azhar also denounced Macron’s statements. “Macron accused Islam of false accusations that have nothing to do with the true religion of this religion, whose Sharia calls for tolerance and peace among all human beings, even those who do not believe in it.”

The Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Ali Mohieddin Al-Qaradaghi, told the French president that Islam “does not bear the burden of fake cartoon leaders from your industry,” stressing through his Facebook account, Friday, that “Islam does not go through any crises.”

He said, “We have compassion on a ruler who is still in crisis and the specter of religious wars, who lives in its middle ages and we are in the twenty-first century.”

And he continued: “Mr. President Macron: You are in a crisis, a crisis of moral, humanitarian and political setback, and Islam cannot bear the burden of fake cartoon leaders who created crises with your sponsorship.”

Macron is proposing a bill against “emotional separation” with the aim of “combating those who employ religion to question the values ​​of the Republic,” which is considered a targeting of the Muslim community in particular.

Work on the project began last February, but the Corona crisis hindered it, and the future bill aims to “combat those who employ religion to question the values ​​of the republic,” according to what the Elysee Palace reported.

Macron and Erdogan are facing each other over maritime rights in the eastern Mediterranean, in Libya and Syria, and more recently over the conflict in the Nagorno Karabakh region, which has an Armenian majority.

Turkey owes the majority of the population to Islam, but it is a secular country, and it is a member of NATO, but not in the European Union, after its membership application faltered for decades due to a set of disputes.

Also read:

Macron: Islam is experiencing a crisis everywhere in the world

Sheikh Al-Azhar tweets in French in response to Macron

Strongly worded response from Al-Azhar after Macron’s attack on Islam

After Macron’s attack on Islam … a harsh response from Al-Qaradaghi to the French president