Moscow (AFP)
The lightweight mixed martial arts (MMA) world champion, Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, attacked French President Emmanuel Macron and his "followers" on Friday for defending the prophet Muhammad's caricatures.
Originally from Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic of Russia, Khabib Nurmagomedov posted on his Instagram account, followed by 25 million people, a photograph of the French leader with a shoe print drawn on his face.
"May the Almighty disfigure this filth and all his followers who in the name of freedom of expression insult the faith of more than a billion and a half Muslims," wrote the sportsman, in a message in Russian and Arabic.
"Believe me, these provocations will have serious consequences for them because the pious always have the last word," continued Khabib Nurmagomedov, 32, who announced his retirement from sports on Sunday to keep a promise made to his mother.
Emmanuel Macron defended the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad after the assassination in mid October by an Islamist of a French professor, who had shown one of these drawings during a course on freedom of expression.
Since then, protests against Mr. Macron and calls to boycott French products have taken place in predominantly Muslim countries.
On Tuesday, the leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, had already violently criticized Emmanuel Macron, calling him a "terrorist" who "secretly calls on Muslims to commit crimes".
The French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo published these cartoons in 2006 after their publication by a Danish daily angered many Muslims around the world, and was the victim in 2015 of a jihadist attack that killed 12 people.
© 2020 AFP