The attack that this morning has claimed the lives of three people at the hands of a radical Islamist in the Notre Dame de Nice basilica has unleashed a cstream of solidarity and unanimous condemnation in the Arab world. A special reaction given the escalation of tension between some Muslim countries and France, after the call for a boycott of French products by the Turkish President, Taiyip Erdogan.
So, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Jordan Today they condemned the attack, that the terrorist acts “contradict” the teachings of Islam and other religions. In a statement, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the “terrorist attack” and stressed that “extremist acts are contrary to all human religions and beliefs.” “We recall the importance of rejecting such practices that generate hatred, violence and extremism,” the note stated.
“Energetic” condemnation of Turkey
Own Turkish government has “strongly” condemned the terrorist attack and has stressed that “no reason can justify the murder of a person or justify violence.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry notes in a statement posted on its website that those who “organize such a brutal attack on a holy place of worship do not respect religious, humanitarian and moral values.”
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, He also stated in a statement his “categorical rejection” of the attack in France, the third in just over a month, and pointed out that the terrorist attacks “contradict the teachings of all religions.”
Likewise, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain they also condemned the attack and rejected “all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism, for whatever reasons,” the respective foreign departments of the four countries indicated, as well as the Lebanese President Michel Aoun in a brief tweet.
End hatred between peoples
Along these lines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait made reference in another note to the need to “double international efforts to reject any practice that generates hatred between peoples and fuels extremism and terrorism.”
“Terrorism is a common enemy that has nothing to do with a specific religion and goes against the values of life and peace that the Islamic religion represents,” the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published in Twitter
Moreover, today, Al Azhar, the Sunni institution of reference in the Middle East and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, formed by 57 countries, warned of “the escalation of the discourse of violence and hatred”, on a day in which Muslim countries celebrate the anniversary of the prophet Muhammad or Aíd al Mawlid.
Avoid cartoons of Muhammad
The Superior Council of Ulemas of Morocco, the highest religious body below the king, today ordered its imams to avoid in their sermons tomorrow Friday the issue of Muhammad cartoons, which have caused great controversy in recent days throughout the Muslim world.
In a circular from a regional instance of the Council published today by the yabiladi.com portal, and which ensures that it has been received throughout the country, the Council does not explicitly refer to the cartoons, which on the other hand it condemned without ambiguity three days ago in an “ad hoc” statement.
In your circular today, you urge all magnets to “get away from political battles” and “avoid insults to people, institutions and States”, alluding to France, which these days is suffering a commercial boycott campaign in several Muslim countries.
Conviction in Europe
In Europe, the condemnation has also been absolute. Thus, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has sent a message to Emmanuel Macron, assuring that “the cynical and cruel crime” generates special indignation in him for having taken place inside a church.
European leaders have unanimously condemned the Nice attack, which has killed three people. “Consternation”, “Indignation” or “cruel crime” are part of the sentiments expressed by leaders such as the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the Italian Prime Minister, Giussepe Conte, or the British Boris Johnson, who has described the attack as “barbarian”. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and the United Kingdom unconditionally supports France in the fight against terror and intolerance,” added the ‘premier’ in a tweet.
What will be the new security device?
Macron has announced that the military security device will increase from 3,000 to 7,000 soldiers in the country. This increase will protect places of worship during the upcoming All Saints holiday and schools for the return of the autumn holidays, which takes place from next week, said the French president.
In addition, he has convened a Defense Council for this Friday in which, he has assured, more measures will be taken, while he has promised to “protect” citizens and “respond” with “firmness and unity” to the attack, the third that the country suffers in a month.
In what context does the attack come?
It should be remembered that France is currently on high alert after the death of a teacher on the outskirts of Paris at the hands of an 18-year-old young man of Chechen origin for showing cartoons of Muhammad in a freedom of expression class, the same published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and which motivated the attacks against the weekly in 2015. In addition to the cartoons, the measures that France has taken against some Islamist groups, such as the expulsion from the country of its most radical leaders, have caused friction among the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Erdogan has even called for a boycott of French products.
Have there been more attacks?
Yes. This very Thursday morning a man who was threatening passersby with a weapon in the street in the French city of Avignon has been killed by the police. In addition, in Saudi Arabia, a citizen has attacked with a sharp object a security guard at the French consulate in the city of Jeddah, in the west of the country, causing him minor injuries, according to the official SPA agency.
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