Small gatherings were held this weekend in the Middle East and a campaign to boycott French products has started in the region to protest against Emmanuel Macron's comments on the freedom to blaspheme.
Some 200 Israeli Arabs shouted their anger on Saturday evening from under the windows of the French ambassador to Israel.
Protesters gathered in front of Eric Danon's residence in Jaffa, the largely Arab city attached to Tel Aviv, under banners calling for the defense of the Prophet Muhammad.
They burned portraits of the French president, before dispersing peacefully.
The Prophet "
is sacred in Islam and he who attains his honor, reaches a whole people
"Amin Bukhari, a speaker who accused the French president of playing into the game of"
the extreme right, "
told the crowd
.
"We must respect Moses among the Jews, we must respect Jesus Christ, who is also our prophet, and we must respect the prophet Muhammad,
" he added.
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In Khan Younès, in the south of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where two million inhabitants live, a handful of them set fire to photos of the French head of state and a dozen of them were indignant in Deir al-Balah.
Hamas, which administers the territory, issued a statement.
He believes that "
insulting religions and prophets is not a matter of freedom of expression but rather promotes a culture of hatred
".
A few days ago, Hamas had qualified the assassination of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine as an “
internal affair
” and denied any affiliation with the Cheikh Yassine collective of Abdelhakim Sefrioui, dissolved by the French government.
He said his refusal to be associated with "
national battles
" other than the
"struggle against the Israeli occupation"
.
For its part, Islamic Jihad, Gaza's second armed group, argued "that
offending
" Islam and its Prophet Muhammad was a "
red line
" that "
could not be tolerated
".
Calls for revenge
Protest movements were also reported in Lebanon, Tripoli and Saida.
In Tripoli, young people marched in the streets, and in Saïda a convoy of cars was organized by Jamaa Islamiya, a movement originating from the Muslim Brotherhood.
In Syria, in Deir ez-Zor, a town under the control of Kurdish forces, militiamen opened fire to disperse an anti-French demonstration.
Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Kuwait and Jordan denounced the republication of the Prophet's cartoons without condemning the beheading of Samuel Paty.
If King Abdullah had participated in the 2015 Parisian march for
Charlie Hebdo
, a spokesperson for the Jordanian kingdom this time expressed Amman's dissatisfaction with the new distribution of the cartoons that "
hurt the feelings of some two billion of Muslims and target holy places
”.
At the same time, Senate Speaker Faisal Fayez urged "
peaceful forces to confront anyone who attempts to insult the sanctity of religions and divine prophets under the pretext of freedom of speech
."
Calls for revenge
The Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which brings together Muslim countries, deplored "
the words of certain French officials (...) likely to harm Franco-Muslim relations"
.
On social networks, calls to boycott French products have multiplied since Friday, through hashtags in Arabic as well as - a worrying phenomenon - threatening calls for revenge.
The University of Qatar has postponed the French Cultural Week, and Kuwaiti travel agencies are ceasing to offer trips to France.
And in Kuwait, photos showing Kiri and Babybel cheeses removed from the shelves of some stores were relayed.