Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned the cartoons offending the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and attempts of French president to link Islam with terrorism, reported The Indian express on Tuesday.
In Saudi Arabia, calls for a boycott of French supermarket chain Carrefour were trending on social media, though two main stores Reuters visited in Riyadh on Monday seemed as busy as normal. A company representative in France said it had yet to feel any impact.
A foreign ministry official also said in a statement that the Gulf state condemns all acts of terrorism, in an apparent reference to the beheading of a teacher in Paris this month by a migrant avenging the use of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a class on freedom of expression.
“Freedom of expression and culture should be a beacon of respect, tolerance and peace that rejects practices and acts which generate hatred, violence and extremism and are contrary to coexistence,” said the statement carried by state media.
The caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have sparked anger in the Muslim world with Turkey’s leader calling for a boycott of French goods and Pakistan’s parliament passing a resolution urging the government to recall its envoy from Paris.