DOHA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2020) Qatari shops and restaurants, including national retail giant Al Meera, have announced a boycott of French goods in protest of French President Emmanuel Macron's statement on the necessity to step up battle against radical islam in France.
"We have immediately removed all French goods from sale in all our shops until further notice," Al Meera said.
The Qatari Emir's family published on Instagram a list of French brands that were sold in the country and urged not to buy their goods.
The University of Qatar decided to postpone a cultural event that was to be held under the year of France in Qatar, saying that "any attacks against Islam and its symbols are unacceptable."
On October 21, Macron delivered a speech during a commemoration ceremony for French history teacher Samuel Paty, who was brutally murdered by a radicalized teen. The president urged to "free Islam in France from the foreign influence and strengthen control on the mosques' funding," and stressed that France would continue to defend freedom of expression.
On October 16, France was rocked by the beheading of Paty in the outskirts of Paris. The teacher had showed cartoons of Islamic prophet Mohammad to his students as part of a freedom of speech discussion, apparently prompting outrage among some of Muslim parents. The killer was shot dead by police the same day.
