President Emmanuel Macron has breached France’s constitution and international law by insulting the Islamic religion and Holy Prophet Mohammad (SM). France’s Constitution protects all beliefs and religions. Constitutionally France is a secular country. Secularism is based on respect for freedom of thought and freedom of religion. This is meant to both protect the government from any possible interference from religious organizations, and to protect the religious organizations from political quarrels and controversies.
Secularism is not a belief, but rather a principle authorising all beliefs, providing it respects the principles of freedom of conscience and equal rights. Secularism is neither pro- nor anti-religious. France does not favour any one religion and guarantees their peaceful co-existence in respect of the laws and principles of the Republic.
Under Article 1 of the France’s Constitution of 1958 with Amendments through 2008 ‘France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race, or religion. It shall respect all beliefs. It shall be organised on a decentralized basis’. Under Article 5 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic shall ensure due respect for the Constitution. The freedom to practice religion has been recognised since 1905 when the Law on Separation of the Church and State came into effect.
According to the report of ‘Statista Research Department’, until 10 June 2020, France’s total population is 67.06 millions. Islam is the second-most widely professed religion in France behind Christianity. A 2017 Pew Research report estimates the Muslim population of France to be 5,760,999 or 8.8% of the total population.
President Emmanuel Macron has breached Article 1 and 5 of the French Constitution since he directly attacks the Muslims’ beliefs. On 2 October 2020, President Emmanuel Macron stated that ‘Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today’ and vowed to present a bill in December to strengthen a law that officially separated church and state in France.
Macron said on 24 October 2020, France ‘would not give up cartoons’ depicting the Prophet Mohammed (SM). Macron’s comments came in response to the beheading of a teacher, Samuel Paty, outside his school in a suburb outside Paris on 16 October 2020.
Depictions of the Prophet Mohammad (SM) can cause serious offence to Muslims because Islamic tradition explicitly forbids images of Allah and Prophet Mohammad (SM). Under the Constitution of France Mr Macron should respect all beliefs.
Under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ‘Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching’. The ICCPR adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) on 19 December 1996. France ratified the ICCPR on 04 November 1980.
Freedom of thought and freedom of religion must be protected under the Constitution of France and International laws. President Macron has duty to confirm both rights. Confirming freedom of thought does not mean to insult freedom of religion. It seems that Mr Macron acted maliciously when he stated that France ‘would not give up cartoons’ depicting the Prophet Mohammad (SM). France Constitution and International law do not permit to show Prophet Mohammad’s (SM) cartoons since it is totally forbidden under Islamic tradition.
On 17 October 2020, French President Mr Macron has called the beheading of Mr Samuel Paty an ‘Islamic terrorist attack. It is alleged that Mr Macron intentionally has attacked the Islamic religion and its followers. Beheading of Mr Samuel Paty should be considered individual’s criminal offence and criminal should be prosecuted before the court. Mr Paty’s killer, 18 year old Abdullakh Anzorov was shot dead by police shortly after attack.
Islam views murder as both a crime by law in this world and as major since punishable in the afterlife as well. Islam is utterly against terrorism and extremism. Islamic religion does not support any terrorist’s activities and unlawful killing. Blaming an entire religion because of single or individual’s acts is patently unfair and serves no purpose. The killing of Samuel Paty is a complete violation of Islamic law and norms, and the perpetrator is in no way representative of the Muslim people or the religion of Islam.
Islamic religion does not support any unlawful killing. Allah (God) upholds the sanctity of life as a universal principle. ‘And do not kill one another, for Allah is indeed merciful unto you’, says the Holy Quaran (4:29). ‘… if anyone slew a person unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land, it would be as if he slew the whole people : and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people’ (5:32, Holy Quaran) .
France has a history of Islamophobia. France Magazine Charlie Hebdo republished in September 2020 controversial insulting cartoons about Prophet Mohammad (SM). In 2015, 12 people were killed in an attack on the offices of France satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published the cartoons. France authority should take action to stop any insulting cartoons in relation to Islam or any other religions.
(Barrister Solaiman is a member of The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, an Associate of Dr. M. Khaled Ahmed & Associates and specialists on International Human Rights Law. Email: [email protected]).
