Muslims ‘have right to kill millions of French’: Malaysia’s Mahathir sparks uproar with his response to Macron
- Comments by the former leader of Malaysia come as three people are killed at a church in Nice in a suspected terror attack
- The 95-year-old was referring to calls by Muslim nations for a boycott of French products following Macron’s plan to clamp down on radical Islam
The comments appeared on the 95-year-old’s blog on Thursday evening as part of Mahathir’s response to calls from Muslim nations to boycott French products. Twitter has since removed one of the elder statesman’s tweets containing his latest remarks after deeming it violated its rules. Earlier, it left the tweet accessible “in the public interest”.
Cédric O, France’s junior digital affairs minister, said he spoke with the managing director of Twitter in his country and called for the immediate suspension of Mahathir’s official account. “If not, Twitter would be an accomplice to murder,” the minister wrote on the social media platform.
05:32
Malaysia’s ex-PM says Muslims ‘have right to kill millions of French’ hours after France attack
Mahathir’s post was immediately criticised by both foreign and local audiences, many of whom said he was encouraging violence.
03:05
Muslims protest against French leader’s defence of Prophet Mohammed cartoons, call for boycott
“Since you have blamed all Muslims and their religion for what was done by one angry person, the Muslims have a right to punish the French. The boycott cannot compensate the wrongs committed by the French all these years,” he wrote, in an apparent reference to French colonialism
“But by and large the Muslims have not applied the ‘eye for an eye’ law. Muslims don’t. The French shouldn’t. Instead the French should teach their people to respect other people’s feelings.”
In what some people saw as his most inflammatory remark, Mahathir appeared to reference French colonialism, saying: “Muslims have a right to be angry and kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past.”
Australia’s ambassador in Malaysia, Andrew Goledzinowski, was among the more than 24,000 people who have responded to that remark – shared on the politician’s Twitter account – by quoting it.
“I am deeply disturbed by this statement from Tun Dr Mahathir,” wrote Goledzinowski. “I know that he has not, and would not, advocated actual violence. But in the current climate, words can have consequences.”
Indonesian Muslim group calls for calm amid Islamic fury at Macron
Malaysian cleric and politician Fathul Bari Mat Jahya urged the nonagenarian to “delete” his comments. “Tun, this is not right. Islam does not teach its adherents to punish wholesale,” the cleric wrote on Twitter, using Mahathir’s honorific title.
“This is a reprehensible tribalism. As a statesman, and a figure popular abroad, with due respect I request Tun to delete this remark.”
Mahathir’s remarks came as reports emerged of fresh attacks at a church in Nice, France.
Mahathir, who is known for a sardonic writing style, said that while he did not approve of the killing and believed in freedom of speech, he did not believe this freedom extended to ‘insulting’ others
The assailant “kept repeating ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is Great) even while under medication” after he was injured during his arrest, Nice’s Mayor Christian Estrosi told journalists at the scene, reported AFP.
03:06
Knife attacker beheads woman, kills two others in suspected terrorist attack at church in France
France knife attacker beheads woman, kills two others in attack at church
Macron’s plans have led to tensions with Muslim nations, many of whom have responded with calls for a boycott of French goods.
The Malaysian government this week summoned the French chargé d’affaires to express Malaysia’s concern over growing hostilities, hate speech and defamation of Islam.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said it had used the meeting to reiterate Malaysia’s position condemning any “inflammatory rhetoric and provocative acts” that defamed Islam.
It pointed to populist speeches and the recent republication of caricatures of the Prophet that had first appeared in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, itself the target of a mass shooting in 2015.
“Malaysia will continue to work with the international community to promote mutual respect among religions and prevent religious extremism,” it said.
Meanwhile, Mahathir, who is known for a sardonic writing style, said that while he did not approve of the killing and believed in freedom of speech, he did not believe this freedom extended to “insulting” others.
“Macron is not showing that he is civilised. He is very primitive in blaming the religion of Islam and Muslims for the killing of the insulting schoolteacher. It is not in keeping with the teachings of Islam.”
Additional reporting by AFP
