Some members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) on
Tuesday burnt the flag of France in the federal capital territory (FCT) over
President Emmanuel Macron’s comments on cartoons of Prophet Mohammed published
in a magazine.
Many Muslims have decribed the cartoons as “blasphemous.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Macron said he
understands the sentiments expressed by Muslims over the cartoons but he has a
duty to protect rights – such as freedom of expression – of citizens in his
country.
“You must understand my role right now, it’s to do two
things; to promote calm and also to protect these rights,” Macron said.
“I will always defend in my country the freedom to speak, to
write, to think, to draw. I think that the reactions came as a result of lies
and distortions of my words because people understood that I supported these
cartoons.”
But the president’s comment sparked anti-French protests in
the Muslim world.
During their march in the FCT, the IMN members burnt the
flag of France while chanting songs.
In a statement, Sidi Munir, an IMN member, described the
publication as an attack on Muslims.
“We set France flag on fire in a reaction to the attack on
Islam and Muslims by the President of France Emmanuel Macron since the heinous
crime of publishing cartoons of the Prophet by the magazine Charlie Hebdo,”
Munir said in the statement distributed during the protest.
“Hence we applaud the current campaign across Muslim and all
lovers of peace and humanity.”
The demonstration led to a panic at Wuse market where it
ended.
Some traders hurriedly locked up their shops in panic over
the possibility of an outbreak of violence.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com