Lebanon Mufti denounces French insults against Prophet

By Wasim Saifuddin
BEIRUT (AA) – Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Abdul Latif Derian on Wednesday said that those offending the Prophet Muhammad will draw the ire of the whole Muslim world.

“Whoever makes any insult against Islam and the Prophet will put himself in a face-off with all Muslims around the world,” Derian said in a ceremony marking the prophet’s birthday on Wednesday.

He said offensive campaigns against Islam and the Prophet on the pretext of freedom of expression “amount to a continued aggression on all Muslims around the world”.

On Oct. 2, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a controversial plan to tackle what he calls “Islamic separatism” in France, claiming that the faith of Islam is in “crisis” all over the world and promising to “free Islam in France from foreign influences”.

Last week, Macron defended blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, saying France would “not give up our cartoons” after the brutal murder of high school teacher Samuel Paty, who showed provocative caricatures in a class.

The past few days have witnessed the republication of cartoons insulting Prophet Muhammad in France which sparking a wave of anger and protests across the Islamic world and campaigns have been launched in some countries to boycott French products.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara