Muslims have 'right to punish' French if ‘eye for an eye’ law applies: Mahathir

Malaysian former PM disapproves killing of French teacher over blasphemous caricatures

KUALA LUMPUR:

Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has said that Muslims had a right "to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past. But by and large the Muslims have not applied the ‘eye for an eye’ law”.

“Muslims don’t. The French shouldn’t. Instead the French should teach their people to respect other people’s feelings,” he said in a blog post on Thursday while disapproving the killing of a French teacher who showed pupils blasphemous caricatures.

But by and large the Muslims have not applied the “eye for an eye” law. Muslims don’t. The French shouldn’t. Instead the French should teach their people to respect other people’s feelings.

— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) October 29, 2020

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Mahathir, 95, a respected leader in the Muslim world, said he believed in freedom of expression but that it should not be used to insult others.

“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,” he said.

Mahathir, who served as Malaysian premier twice for a total of 24 years, said that French President Emmanuel Macron was "not showing that he is civilised", adding that he was "very primitive".

"The boycott cannot compensate the wrongs committed by the French all these years.”

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