French Muslims criticise boycott calls amid row on caricatures

PARIS, France — Muslims in France have spoken of their opposition to calls for a boycott on French products amid backlash against French President Emmanuel Macron on his defence of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. 

"I'm not a fan of this kind of approach [call for a boycott], because there is a French context, there is a Muslim community in France that is mostly trying to live serenely in France," said Ismail Mounir, a Muslim preacher and teacher.

“It's about the principle of freedom of expression in France, I don't like them, but I'm free to ignore them,” Mounir said of the cartoons. 

Several countries have seen calls for boycotts and rallies against France after Macron defended the publication of cartoons of the prophet following the brutal beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, killed for showing caricatures during a class on freedom of expression. 

"We call, of course, to defend the interests of our country, and on the calls to boycott French products, we call on the Muslims of France to be very careful and to denounce this type of call, which attempts to divide our society and to separate citizens of the Muslim faith from their fellow citizens," Mohammed Moussaoui, President of the French Council of Muslim Worship, told the press after a meeting with Macron.

Anger has been particularly strong in Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on citizens to boycott France. 

“Erdogan will never change, just as France will never change. France will never let go of secularism, and Erdogan, he will never let go of Islamism,” said Turkish restaurant owner Pierre.