Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechen Republic, has said on Wednesday that his criticism toward French President Emmanuel Macron over the latter's refusal to condemn the publications of caricatures depicting Islamic prophet Mohammad comes from his belief as a Muslim, not as a political official
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechen Republic, has said on Wednesday that his criticism toward French President Emmanuel Macron over the latter's refusal to condemn the publications of caricatures depicting Islamic prophet Mohammad comes from his belief as a Muslim, not as a political official.
The Chechen leader on Tuesday joined the global Islamic community in condemnation of Macron, after the French president said that he would continue to support the publication of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet. Addressing Kadyrov's criticisms earlier on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will form Russia's foreign policy.
"I agree with Dmitry Sergeyevich [Peskov]. And I know very well that the heads of the regions do not shape foreign policy ... However, I need to stress that I expressed my opinion to the French authorities as a Muslim, not as a politician," the Chechen leader wrote on his Telegram channel.
The French president has pledged to step up efforts to combat radical islam after a history teacher, Samuel Paty, was brutally beheaded by a man of Chechen origin on the outskirts of Paris. Paty reportedly showed caricatures depicting the Islamic prophet Mohammad in class.
Satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo has also published similar cartoons on multiple occasions. Islamic terrorists launched an attack on the magazine's headquarters in 2015, killing 12 and leaving 11 others with injuries.
