Updated 26 October 2020 at 14:23 IST
Middle East stores boycott French products alleging 'insult' of Prophet Mohammad
Kuwait’s retail co-ops have removed French products in boycott over use of Prophet Mohammad’s cartoon by a French school teacher, who was later beheaded.
Kuwait’s retail co-ops have removed French products in boycott over use of Prophet Mohammad’s cartoon by a French school teacher, who was later beheaded. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, a social media hashtag calling for the boycott of French supermarket retailer Carrefour has been trending. For Muslim majority nations of the middle east, which view any depiction of Prophet Mohammad as blasphemous, boycotting French Products has become a novel way to express discomfort. Kuwait’s Foreign minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, who met French ambassador on October 25, although denounced the Paris beheading as a “heinous crime”, stressed that there was an immediate need to refrain from insulting Prophet in “political and official remarks” that "inflame hatred, enmity and racism".
“His Excellency Sheikh Dr Ahmed Nasser Al-Muhammad Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, stresses the necessity of stopping offences against all monotheistic religions and the prophets, peace be upon them, in official and political speeches, on the sidelines of his meeting with the French Ambassador to the State of Kuwait,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.
Middle East denounces France
In the aftermath of Samuel Paty’s beheading who showed controversial photographs of Prophet Mohammad, social media is filled has been flooded with calls to boycott French goods along with numerous infuriated caricatures. Joining Kuwait, are countries like Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and even Israel where people coalesced on streets to burn photos of Macron. In addition to protests and boycott of products, flights bookings to French cities have also been suspended by numerous travel agency, impacting travel to France which is struggling to revive tourism post-COVID-9 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the French Foreign Ministry has called upon the Middle East to stop the boycott of French Products. In a statement released on October 25, the foreign ministry asserted that calls to boycott French goods, especially food items, were “baseless”. In addition, they also urged authorities to ensure the safety of French citizens.
"These calls for boycott are baseless and should stop immediately, as well as all attacks against our country, which are being pushed by a radical minority," the statement said.
Published By : Riya Baibhawi
Published On: 26 October 2020 at 14:24 IST