Muslims boycott French products as rage grows over Prophet Mohammed cartoons

Name: Muslims protest against French leader’s defence of Prophet Mohammed cartoons, call for boycott
Uploaded: 2020-10-26T15:57:58.000Z
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Description: Muslims protest against French leader’s defence of Prophet Mohammed cartoons, call for boycott

Stores from Kuwait to the UAE are removing goods from France, while protests are being planned in Pakistan and other nations

Tensions between France and Muslim-majority nations were ignited after a French teacher who had shown caricatures of the prophet in class was beheaded

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Pictures depicting French President Emmanuel Macron are set on fire during a protest in Baghdad. Photo: dpa

Associated Press

Published: 11:57pm, 26 Oct 2020Updated: 3:42pm, 29 Oct 2020

Muslims in the Middle East and beyond broadened their calls for boycotts of French products and protests on Monday, as a clash over depictions of the Prophet Mohammed and the limits of free speech intensified.

Kuwaiti stores pulled French yogurts and bottles of sparkling water from their shelves, Qatar University cancelled a French culture week, and calls to stay away from the Carrefour grocery store chain were trending on social media in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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Muslims protest against French leader’s defence of Prophet Mohammed cartoons, call for boycott

Protests have been held in Turkey and the Gaza Strip and are being planned in Pakistan.

The beheading earlier this month of a French teacher who had shown caricatures of the prophet in class has once again ignited a debate over such depictions – which Muslims consider blasphemous.

A protester holds a picture of French President Emmanuel Macron in Baghdad. Photo: dpa

The growing confrontation is raising political tensions between France and some Muslim-majority nations and could put pressure on French companies.