In separate statements, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Army have denounced French President Emanuel Macron for voicing anti-Muslim sentiments.
The IRGC said on Monday that Islamophobia is a failed projects which will further accelerate the collapse of the U.S. and the Zionist regime, Mehr reported.
It said Macron’s Islamophobic remarks will not damage the image of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), but rather, it will add further to the dark record of those showing hatred toward Islam in the world.
The satanic scenario has entered a new phase after the recent move by Charlie Hebdo to republish offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the subsequent support from the French president, the IRGC’s statement deplored.
The IRGC also said the insults to Islam reveal the great paradox in the West, particularly in the so-called flag-bearer of freedom of expression in Europe, adding that France is attempting to cover up its failure to prevent the spread of Islam and growing enthusiasm for Islamic teachings.
“The rulers of the hegemonic system and Zionism, which are the main supporters of the extremist and Takfiri movements and creation of horror and violence in the world, would be unable to save the crisis-hit and anti-human West from a self-created quagmire,” it said.
The IRGC also warned that France should await an appropriate response from the Muslim community, beyond just a boycott of French products or protests.
Similarly, the Army in its Tuesday statement called on Muslims across the world to become united against the “arrogant criminals” in order to root out Islamophobia throughout the world through their unity.
According to the Army’s statement, the false proponents of human rights have linked a student’s action against his teacher to Islam and used that as an excuse to target the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and hurt the feelings of hundreds of millions of freedom-seeking Muslims across the world under the banner of defending freedom of speech.
“The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while condemning such heinous and insulting acts, considers them as a sign of the desperation of the West and Zionism, which are on their way toward collapse,” the statement concluded.
The statements came after Macron pledged to fight “Islamist separatism”, which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France.
He supported a French teacher’s displaying of cartoons insulting the Prophet of Islam in his class. The teacher, Samuel Paty, was murdered by an 18-year-old Chechen assailant.
Macron’s comments, along with his backing of satirical outlets publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), have led to a social media campaign calling for the boycott of French products from supermarkets in Arab countries and Turkey.
Hashtags such as the #BoycottFrenchProducts in English and the Arabic #NeverTheProphet trended across countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
“Muslims and monotheists of the world condemn in the strongest form the blatant enmity of the foolish and stubborn leaders of France toward the prophet of mercy (PBUH) unanimously,” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf tweeted on Monday.
Ghalibaf added that such wickedness shows the French leaders’ enmity toward all the heavenly religions.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top foreign policy adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, said extremism and offending the prophet are two sides of the same coin which the international Zionism and the global arrogance have adopted against Islam.
“In extremism the bodies of people are targeted and in insult their souls,” Velayati said, criticizing the French government’s pretext of freedom of expression to foment hatred between people.
The veteran politician also called on all Muslims across the world to be vigilant in the face of such conspiracies against Islam.
