Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a tweet on October 29 said, "Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people."
In a series of tweets, he claimed that the French in the course of history have killed millions of people, many of whom were Muslims.12. Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past.
— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) October 29, 2020
13. Since you have blamed all Muslims and the Muslims’ religion for what was done by one angry person, the Muslims have a right to punish the French. The boycott cannot compensate the wrongs committed by the French all these years.https://t.co/ysZeXDrQ09
— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) October 29, 2020
Mohamad's comments come in the backdrop of the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty on October 16 outside Paris at the hands of a radical Islamist. The teacher had shown caricatures of Prophet Muhammad to his students.
Mohamad also launched attacks at French President Emmanuel Macron by calling him 'very primitive'.The French president, who had said that Islam was a religion in crisis, has been facing criticism from various Muslim-majority countries after he took a tough stand on radical Islam and defended a caricature of Prophet Muhammad.11. Macron is not showing that he is civilised. He is very primitive in blaming the religion of Islam and Muslims for the killing of the insulting school teacher. It is not in keeping with the teachings of Islam.
— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) October 29, 2020