New Delhi: In yet another terrorist attack in the French city of Nice on Thursday (October 29), a knife-wielding man shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church. A defiant President Emmanuel Macron vowed to deploy thousands of more soldiers to protect important French sites, such as places of worship and schools.
Macron said France had been attacked “over our values, for our taste for freedom, for the ability on our soil to have freedom of belief”, adding “And I say it with lots of clarity again today: we will not give any ground.”
On the 16th of this month, a school teacher, Samuel Patty, was killed for using a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed to explain to his class about the freedom of expression. A few years ago, a French magazine Charlie Hebdo had published these cartoons.
The Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said that the attack took place in Notre Dame church and was similar to the beheading earlier this month near Paris of teacher Samuel Paty, who had used cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a civics class. The attacker was arrested and the French police have started an investigation.
Apart from this, a Saudi man was arrested in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after attacking and injuring a guard at the French consulate. The French Embassy said the guard was in the hospital after a knife assault though his life was not in danger.
Notably, France is likely to undergo another lockdown after midnight and the issue was discussed by President Emanual Macron with his ministers when this attack happened. When the news reached the Parliament of France, the President of the National Assembly of France informed the MPs who paid tributes to those killed by keeping a minute's silence.
The attacks on French citizens have now become the center of discussion all over the world, dividing the world into two parts. In countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, Muslims who came out on the streets shouting slogans against France and were stating that they will not tolerate the insult of Islam are now silent.
Amid Islamicist attacks in France, 42-year-old Emmanuel Macron has become the defiant face against radical Islam. This has also irked those nations which want to prove them to be leaders of Islamic countries.
Because of this reason that Malaysia`s former premier Mahathir Mohamad said that Muslims have a right to "kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past". In a blog post Mahathir, 95, a respected leader in the Muslim world, said, "Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past. But by and large, the Muslims have not applied the `eye for an eye` law. Muslims don`t. The French shouldn`t."
Mahathir also posted this on Twitter, adding "Since you have blamed all Muslims and the Muslims` religion for what was done by one angry person, the Muslims have a right to punish the French."
The French government raised strong objections to Mahathir's statement and said that if Twitter does not delete this tweet, it will be assumed that the messaging app is also involved in killing French citizens. Twitter has removed this tweet terming it objectionable.
A few days ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that French President Emmanuel Macron needs psychiatric treatment. Pakistan also came out in opposition to France and passed a resolution to call back its Ambassador from France. The overzealous Pakistan MPs forgot that they do have any Ambassador in France for the last few months.
Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia are the countries that now are striving to emerge as the new leaders of the Islamic world, therefore, openly opposing France and are extending support to the radical ideology of Islam.
President Emanual Macron, however, has strongly reacted against them saying that France will not bow to radical Islam and will deal with terrorism vigorously.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in France, and asserted that India stands with the country in the fight against terrorism.
In a tweet, PM Modi said, "I strongly condemn the recent terrorist attacks in France, including today's heinous attack in Nice inside a church," adding "Our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the people of France. India stands with France in the fight against terrorism."
India had also deplored the personal attacks against French President Emmanuel Macron following his tough stance on radical Islam, calling it a violation of the most basic standards of international discourse. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had also condemned the brutal terrorist attack that took the life of a French teacher and asserted that there is no justification for terrorism for any reason or under any circumstance.
Indian people are also watching the incidents of increasing fanaticism in France very carefully. They expect France to find a strong solution to this problem of radical Islam and hope that it would also encourage India to take similar action.
France is likely to introduce a new law, in which there will be no room for any kind of bigotry in the name of religion. If France manages to implement it successfully, it will put forth an example before the world. Perhaps, it would also boost the demand for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in India.
