Muslims Primary Victims of ‘Cult of Hatred’: Iran’s Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed French President Emanuel Macron for insulting Muslims and their sanctities, saying that such moves only fuel extremism.
“Muslims are the primary victims of the ‘cult of hatred’—empowered by colonial regimes & exported by their own clients. Insulting 1.9B Muslims—& their sanctities—for the abhorrent crimes of such extremists is an opportunistic abuse of freedom of speech. It only fuels extremism,” Zarif tweeted on Monday.
Earlier this month, Macron pledged to fight what he described as “Islamist separatism”, which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France.
He also described Islam as a religion “in crisis” worldwide and said the government would present a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France.
His comments, in addition to his backing of satirical outlets publishing offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), have led to a social media campaign calling for the boycott of French products from supermarkets in Arab countries and Turkey.
