Following recent flagrant insults to the Holy Prophet of Islam in France, the strong support of the French President Emmanuel Macron and the Cabinet of that country for these malicious actions under the guise of “freedom of expression,” and also the role played by that government in spreading Islamophobia, Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a letter to the young people in France, calling on them to question the double standards of their president over freedom of expression.

To know more about the issue, we reached out to Bangkok- based geopolitical researcher Anthony Cartalucci.

Following is the text of our interview with him:

What is the significance of the Leader’s message?

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s message perfectly illustrates Western hypocrisy where the West and the West alone gets to decide what is “free speech” and what is illegal to say. Of course if religious tolerance is a serious issue for France, then laws protecting religion and preventing sectarian strife should be evenly applied to protect all groups.

Every society has “red lines” that cannot be crossed in terms of “free speech” – the Holocust is a perfect example of a topic in the West that is off-limits from “free speech.” However, the West enjoys crossing the red lines of other nations and groups of people when it suits them – and this hypocrisy was highlighted perfectly by the Iranian Leader’s letter to the French youth.

Why does French President support insulting God’s Messenger in the name of freedom of expression. Does freedom of expression mean insulting, especially a sacred personage? Isn’t this stupid act an insult to the reason of the people who elected him?

Freedom of speech is meant to protect civilized discourse. Slandering, libel, mockery, insults, and harassment are neither civilized discourse nor “free speech.” It should be pointed out that in the United States when the Bill of Rights was being signed, should someone have mocked or insulted one of America’s Founding Fathers it was likely grounds for legal action or even a literal deul outside with pistols or swords.

The West, including France, know full well this current issue regarding Islam has nothing to do with protecting free speech and is another step in manipulating, dividing, and directing the attention of the public – both in France and abroad.

Why is it a crime to raise doubts about the Holocaust? Why should anyone who writes about such doubts be imprisoned while insulting the Prophet (PBUH) is allowed?

This is a case of obvious Western double standards. They are the same double standards that have Facebook and Twitter purging thousands of accounts online because of supposed “real world harm” they “fear” these accounts could be promoting – while organizations like the BBC, Reuters, CNN, and others are allowed to keep their accounts – and in good standing – despite selling literal wars that have killed tens of thousands and destroyed entire countries.

While the French government’s actions are highly provocative they should come as no surprise. For Muslims around the globe, they must have confidence in themselves and their faith and refuse to be provoked by these actions or drawn into efforts to create a wider confrontation. Patience, intelligent discussion, thoughtful criticism, and civilized protest is the best antidote to toxic policies like those promoted by the current French government.

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