Iran summons French envoy over insulting cartoons as Muslim world backlash intensifies

Florent Aydalot was summoned Monday "in protest against the French authorities' insistence on supporting the publication of cartoons insulting the Prophet, peace be upon him," the statement said.

The ministry said "the unacceptable behavior of the French authorities" had "hurt the feelings of millions of Muslims in Europe and the world".

"Any insult and disrespect toward the Prophet of Islam and Islamic values are strongly condemned," it added.

Earlier this month, French history teacher Samuel Paty provoked outrage by showing to his students the blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

He was murdered outside his school in a Paris suburb on October 16 by an 18-year-old assailant who was shot dead by police.

French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly defended the right to mock religion and characterized the murder as an “Islamist terrorist attack.”

Macron said France would not “give up cartoons” depicting the Prophet.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that Macron's remarks only fueled "extremism" and that insulting all Muslims "for the abhorrent crimes of such extremists is an opportunistic abuse of freedom of speech."

His ministry said it was "regrettable to incite Islamophobia and spread hatred in the name of freedom of expression, which should serve communication, empathy and coexistence."

French ‘Islamophobia project’

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) also said France’s “Islamophobia project” only speeds up the inevitable fall of the United States and the Israel.

In a statement released on Monday, the IRGC slammed France’s “imbecile and adventurist president” for supporting the move.

The IRGC said the measure proves “a major contradiction in the West, especially in a country like France, which claims to be the pioneer of the so-called freedom of expression in Europe, and which is trying to hide its failure in preventing the progress of Islam and stymie increasing tendency of Western citizens toward Islam.”

While strongly condemning this anti-Islam measure, the IRGC statement noted that this is a “failed project, which nonetheless will speed up the inevitable fall of the United States and the Zionist regime.”

Muslim world’s reaction

Across the Muslim world, leaders condemned Macron while tens of thousands attended protests in Bangladesh calling for a boycott of French goods.

The protesters rallied in the South Asian nation’s capital on Tuesday as they carried banners and placards reading: “All Muslims of the world, unite” and “Boycott France.” It was the largest protest yet against the cartoons in recent days.

Some carried portraits of Macron with an “X” on his face. 

Muslims have been calling for both protests and a boycott of French goods in response to France’s stance on caricatures of Islam’s most revered figure.

Protests were also held in Iraq, Turkey and the Gaza Strip.

Pakistan’s Parliament passed a resolution condemning the publication of cartoons of the Prophet.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the kingdom “rejects any attempt to link Islam and terrorism, and denounces the offensive cartoons of the Prophet.”

Saudi clerics have too condemned the caricatures, but have also cited the Prophet’s “mercy, justice, tolerance”.

Qatar also condemned “the dramatic escalation of populist rhetoric” inciting religious abuse. In a statement, the government said inflammatory speech is fueling calls for the repeated targeting of nearly two billion Muslims around the world through the deliberate offending of the Prophet and has led to an increase in hostility toward Muslims.