Minister Of Religion Fachrul Razi Condemns The President Of France On Caricatures Of The Prophet Muhammad: Freedom Of Expression Cannot Be Reasonable

French President Emmanuel Macron (Twitter / @ emmanuelmacron)

JAKARTA - Minister of Religion (Menag) Fachrul Razi criticized French President Emmanuel Macron's statement linking Islam with terrorism because this statement hurt the feelings of Muslims. Not only that, he also asked all parties to respect religious symbols that are considered sacred, including understanding the visualization of the Prophet Muhammad.

"Freedom of opinion or expression must not be carried out beyond limits or excess so that it injures the honor, sanctity, sacredness of values and symbols of any religion," said Fachrul in his written statement, Thursday, October 29.

He emphasized that insulting religious symbols is a crime. Thus, the perpetrators must be responsible for their actions in accordance with applicable regulations.

He also emphasized that Islam has never justified taking justice into its own hands, let alone committing murder. Islam, he said, is a religion that always upholds human values.

So, Fachrul appealed to Muslims in Indonesia not to be provoked into anarchist action. Islam does not condone vigilante action.

"The greatness of Islam cannot be upheld by violating human values. Show a firm attitude while still upholding the character of the religious community which rejects acts of violence," he said.

It is known that the Indonesian government officially protested the contents of the speech by French President Emmanuel Macron by summoning French Ambassador Oliver Chambard for questioning. The Indonesian government has urged the French Government not to link Islam with acts of terrorism or extremism.

"The summoning of the Ambassador and the direct delivery of Indonesia's condemnation is an affirmation of Indonesia's position for the French to know," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah, Wednesday, October 28 yesterday.

Previously, a history teacher in France, Samuel Paty was beheaded by his own pupil after showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad SAW to teach lessons about freedom of expression to his students. However, the resistance and uproar that emerged from Paty's attitude was in fact enormous.

Paty's murder then sparked outrage across France. French President Emmanuel Macron and a number of politicians have also expressed a position to condemn the deed.

Macron even called Islam a religion in crisis and promised to fight Islamic separatism. This statement recently drew criticism from Arab countries and even some Arab countries' trade associations announced that they would boycott products from France.