Arab campaign to replace French products with Turkish

ISTANBUL

A campaign to replace French products by Turkish ones is gaining momentum in the wake of anger across the Arab and Muslim world against France over anti-Islam remarks.

"Killing two birds with one stone" was one of the campaigns that went viral on social media across Arab countries.

The campaign called for choosing Turkish products as a sign of respect for Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his coherent stance against his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron's remarks defending the insulting cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.

Arab social media activists published photos of French products along with alternatives from the Turkish products.

"Killing two birds with one stone, I am boycotting the products of those who insulted our Prophet and supporting the products of those who stood against such insults," a Twitter user Ali Qatari wrote.

"I support the campaign of replacing French products with Turkish and I support the popular campaign in support of Turkey," tweeted Sam Duba.

The campaign was spurred by a Saudi and UAE-led move to initiate a boycott of Turkish products.

On Oct. 2, Macron announced a controversial plan to tackle what he calls “Islamic separatism” in France, claiming that the faith of Islam is in “crisis” all over the world and promising to “free Islam in France from foreign influences.”

Last week, he defended blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, saying France would “not give up our cartoons” after the brutal murder of high school teacher Samuel Paty, who showed the provocative caricatures in a class.

At least 73 mosques, private schools, and workplaces in France, a country that has the largest Muslim minority in Western Europe of around 5 million, have been shut down so far this year, according to the French Interior Ministry.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara