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Nov 8, 20204 min read

Why is the Middle East boycotting French Products?

By: Sydney Carroll


The Middle East has been a subject of vast strife and conflict in recent years, both as a victim and an antagonist, in the midst of internal conflict and often wider conflict with the Western world. . As a result of increased anti-Muslim sentiment globally, as a result of Muslim extremist terrorist attacks, discrimination towards Muslims has grown. This has manifested itself globally, as shown in the current Chinese genocide of Uighur Muslims and the United States’ military presence in Muslim majority countries. This discrimination of Muslims globally is widely referred to as Islamophobia.


What is Islamophobia?

Islamophobia is the fear or hatred of Muslims, which is mostly based on inaccurate stereotypes about the Islamic faith. Due to the mainstream media’s focus on Islamic terrorism, Western culture portrays Muslims as just that: terrorists. In fact, since 2010 over 101 large-scale organized anti-Muslim groups have been formed globally. Islamophobia’s rise began after 9/11 when many Western governments pledged to abolish terrorist groups from the Middle East. Fear and anger from the attacks were unfairly placed on all Muslims, versus just those who were part of terrorist groups. Islamophobia isn’t only present in Western people, but particularly in Western anti- Islamic policies. This is presented in every form, from intensive military presence in Middle Eastern countries or bombings of mosques and Muslim places of worship. Recently, Islamophobia has been on the rise in leaders of Western countries - specifically French president Emmanuel Macron.





What happened in France?

Earlier this month, French schoolteacher Samuel Paty showed his class offensive caricatures of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in a lesson on freedom of expression. While he may have given Muslim students the opportunity to look away, controversy ensued. Just days after the incident, a student followed him home and proceeded to murder him with a butcher knife. This caused outrage across France, and resulted in “dozens of raids against suspected Islamic extremists, clos[ure] a major mosque and shutdowns of some Muslim aid groups.” These actions didn’t come to many surprises, as heightened Islamophobia has been present in France as a result of roughly 36 terrorist attacks in the country over the last 8 years. In fact, roughly 50% of France’s police force is affiliated with France’s far-right National Front (FN) party, which is known for highly Islamophobic policies and ideals - meaning that those enforcing the law buy into this discrimination. France’s President Emmanuel Macron, had made comments such as claiming that Islam is a religion “plagued by radical temptations and by a yearning for a reinvented jihad which is the destruction of the other”, just days before the killing. These comments were highly criticized across the Middle East and deemed as Islamophobic.


What was the aftermath?

Macron condemned Islam as a religion, citing faith as “a problematic religion that needs to be contained”. Samuel Paty has since been memorialized as a “freedom of expression hero”. Thus began the French government’s fight against ‘extremism’, and resulted in those same caricatures being projected onto a French government building in the interest of ‘remembrance’. As a country with roughly 5 million Muslims, France has been criticized by surrounding Western countries for being Islamophobicwell as the Islamic state. These criticisms included calling the French government Islamophobic, citing the statements as contradictory of French ideals, and ultimately harmful to the Muslim community. This increased Islamophobia has resulted in a boycott of French goods in the Middle East.


On October 29th, an “Islamic terrorist attack” took place at a church in Nice, France, where three were killed in a knife stabbing. As a result, an extra 4,000 troops were deployed by France’s government to guard churches and schools. While police have not released a motive for the attack, it is widely assumed that the attack is a result of the increased Islamophobia France has shown in recent days. Macron has condemned the violence, saying, “we won’t surrender anything… we won’t give in to the spirit of terror.” This is expected to be far from the last terrorist attack France will experience in the coming weeks, which has increased tensions both in France and across Europe.


How did the Islamic world respond?

As a result of the increased Islamophobic actions by France’s government, the governments of Turkey, Tunisia, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates called for boycotts of French products and grocery stores. In Bangladesh, there was a rally of over 40,000 people protesting Macron, going as far as to burn him in an effigy. French products such as yogurt and sparkling water have been pulled from grocery store shelves, and Qatar University even canceled its “French week” as part of the anti-Macron movement. This boycott could have unprecedented effects on France’s economy, especially considering the boycott may not be ending anytime soon. There is roughly $100 billion dollars worth of trade done between France and Middle Eastern countries annually - meaning a major loss of assets and stability for France’s economy if this conflict continues.


Islamophobia presents a great threat to French culture and people. If France allows the acts of extremists to further solidify anti-Muslim policies and beliefs, it’s clear that this tension may not be resolved in the near future. In a country of over 5 million Muslims, it’s quickly becoming apparent that they “may not be welcome or safe” there. Without a resolution, the state of French-Middle Eastern relations is headed in a turbulent and problematic direction.


Discussion Questions:

  • Why does the Middle East experience so much conflict with Western culture?

  • Is Islamophobia embedded in our culture?

  • Was France or the Middle East the antagonist in this conflict?

  • Do you see this conflict ending in the short term? Why or why not?

  • How could these boycotts affect the economic structure of both France and the Middle East?



Sources/Further Reading:


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