Imran Khan accuses Macron of promoting Islamophobia by ‘attacking’ Islam

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan lashed out at Emanuel Macron, saying the French President has attacked and hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe and across the world by attacking Islam without having any understanding of it.

“Hallmark of a leader is he unites human beings, as Mandela did, rather than dividing them. This is a time when President Macron could have put healing touch and denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation and marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation,” PM Khan said in a tweet on Sunday.

“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, inclduing his own citizens, through encouraging the display of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam and our Prophet PBUH,” Khan said.

“The last thing the world wants or needs is further polarisation. Public statements based on ignorance will create more hate, Islamophobia & space for extremists,” he added.

Macron this month 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.
He announced stricter oversight of schooling and better control over foreign funding of mosques.