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Anti-France protests: Muslims hold rallies worldwide as tensions rise

EPA Protesters hold an effigy of French President Macron in DhakaEPA
Some Muslims are furious about President Macron's defence of the right to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed

Thousands of conservative Muslims in countries around the world have held protests to vent their fury at France over its perceived animosity towards Islam.

Anti-French rallies erupted after Friday prayers in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Lebanon and other countries.

Protesters called for a boycott of French products and condemned President Emmanuel Macron.

He has become a target in several Muslim-majority countries for his recent comments about Islam.

Mr Macron has called Islam a religion "in crisis" and defended the right of a magazine to publish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The backlash intensified after a suspected Islamist extremist killed a French teacher who showed the cartoons in class. Mr Macron said the teacher "was killed because Islamists want our future", but France would "not give up our cartoons".

Many Muslims saw Mr Macron's remarks as an insult, as depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are widely regarded as taboo in Islam.

Getty Images People carrying banners gather to protest in LebanonGetty Images
Protesters waved flags in the Lebanese capital Beirut
EPA Indian Muslims hold placards as they protest against French President Emmanuel MacronEPA
Placards depicting President Macron as a "demon" were seen at protests in India

Protests against France have been taking place in a number of Muslim countries for days.

On Friday, they continued amid heightened tension, a day after another suspected Islamist attack in the French city of Nice.

In Pakistan, police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators marching towards the French embassy in Islamabad. Witnesses said some protesters tried to break through police barricades.

EPA Protestors react after police fired tear gas shells to stop them reaching the French embassy in IslamabadEPA
Police fired tear gas at protesters near the French embassy in Islamabad
EPA Protestors react after police fired tear gas shells to stop them reaching the French embassy in IslamabadEPA
President Macron has been accused of expressing anti-Islamic sentiments

Protesters in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, beat and set fire to effigies of Mr Macron and carried placards denouncing him as an Islamophobe.

One protest leader addressed the crowd, saying Muslims would not allow their beliefs to be ridiculed: "Doesn't matter whether it is France, America, Russia or any other bigger power in the world, we won't tolerate anybody making fun of our beloved Prophet."

EPA Members and supporters of several Islamist political parties hold an effigy of French President Macron in DhakaEPA
Large-scale anti-France rallies have taken place in Bangladesh in recent days
EPA Protesters watch on as an effigy of Macron burnsEPA
Some protesters burned effigies of President Macron, the main target of their ire

Meanwhile, thousands of worshippers rallied after Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, in Jerusalem's walled Old City.

They condemned the publication in France of cartoons showing the Prophet.

"A nation whose leader is Muhammad will not be defeated," some protesters chanted.

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