Sun 25 October 2020:
Hallmark of a leader is he unites human beings, as Mandela did, rather than dividing them
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan on Sunday denounced what he called was “encouragement of Islamophobia” by French President Emmanuel Macron, saying the European leader had chosen to “deliberately provoke” Muslims, including his own citizens.
In a series of tweets, the premier said that the sign of a leader was that he united people, like former South African president Nelson Mandela. “This is a time when President Macron could have put [a] healing touch and denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation and marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation,” he said.
The premier regretted that the French president had instead chosen to encourage Islamophobia by “attacking Islam rather than the terrorists who carry out violence, be it Muslims, White Supremacists or Nazi ideologists”.
Hallmark of a leader is he unites human beings, as Mandela did, rather than dividing them. This is a time when Pres Macron could have put healing touch & denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation & marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 25, 2020
He was referring to comments made on Wednesday by President Macron in which he criticised Islamists and vowed not to “give up cartoons” depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He also contended that Samuel Paty — a teacher who was beheaded last month for showing sketches of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) — was “killed because Islamists want our future”.
Prime Minister Imran said that “by attacking Islam, clearly without having any understanding of it, President Macron has attacked and hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe and across the world”.
“The last thing the world wants or needs is further polarisation. Public statements based on ignorance will create more hate, Islamophobia and space for extremists,” he added.
A day earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Macron over his policies towards Muslims, saying that the French president needed “mental checks”.
“What can one say about a head of state who treats millions of members from different faith groups this way: first of all, have mental checks,” Erdogan said in a televised address.
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