France minister visits Egypt, seeks to ease tensions over Prophet Mohammed controversy

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during his recent visit to Egypt sought to ease tensions with the Arab world amid controversy regarding Prophet Mohammed cartoons back home. Jean-Yves Le Drian, during his visit to the North African nation, met with the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, with whom he spoke about his country's deep respect for Islam. Jean-Yves reportedly said after the meeting that France is fighting terror and extremism and not Islam. 

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Controversy in France

The French President Emmanuel Macron recently stirred controversy after he made comments regarding Islam, particularly one where he said the religion is in crisis. This stoked massive outrage in the Arab world, which led to a certain section of the community calling for a ban on French products in their countries. The Arab world was also upset after Macron defended the right to publish cartoons following the controversy over Prophet Mohammed caricatures, which had offended the Muslim community all over the world. 

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Macron's comment had come in light of recent terrorist attacks in France, where a knife-wielding man attacks several people inside a Church in Nice. The Church attack came as France was mourning the death of a history teacher, who was beheaded after he showed cartoons of Prophet Mohammed to his pupils while discussing freedom of speech and expression. 

Reacting to the worldwide debate over his remarks after the horrific attacks in France, and the protests against him in the Muslim nations, French president Emmanuel Macron said that there is no stigmatization of any religion in his country. On Sunday, Macron explained that France is fighting with terrorism "in name of Islam, and not Islam itself", and his statements should be taken in the same context. 

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Jean-Yves was in Egypt to meet with his counterpart Sameh Choukry to discuss issues of mutual concern. Jean-Yves was received by the Egyptian President  Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following his touch-down in the country on November 7. According to the French foreign ministry, Jean-Yves particularly discussed Libya, the peace process in the Middle East, and the Eastern Mediterranean with his counterpart Choukry and other interlocutors.

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(With inputs from AP)