New Delhi: The gruesome murder of history teacher Samuel Paty by a radicalised Islamist in France has provoked strong reactions from French President Emmanuel Macron and authorities.
“Samuel Paty … became the face of the Republic, of our will to shatter terrorists and Islamists,” the French President said.
Paty was posthumously awarded the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest honour, at a ceremony at the Sorbonne University in Paris. President Macron said, France owed it to a “quiet hero … to continue his fight for liberty and for reason”.
The 47-year-old teacher was murdered on October 16 by Abdullakh of Chechen origin. The killer was Abdullakh Anzorov, 18. Prosecutors said the killer had paid two teenage students around €300 (£270; $355) to identify the teacher Paty.
Samuel Paty was targeted close to his school near Paris for showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in class. His killer, Abdullakh Anzorov, was shot dead by police later.
At stake now is how the country’s 5.7 million Muslims—the largest Muslim population in the European Union — assimilate and Muslim leaders now fear it will precipitate a crackdown that will deepen the divide between moderates and radical people.
Media reports said, the assailant came to France as a refugee and shouted “Allahu Akhbar” after executing the gruesome killing.
Later in a Twitter posting, he wrote: “I have executed one of the dogs from hell who dared to put Muhammad down” – and the microblogging posting had a snap showing the ill-fated teacher Paty’s severed head.
The killer of Samuel Paty was in contact with an Islamist fighter in Syria. A French newspaper reported that Abdullah had contact with an as yet unidentified Russian-speaking jihadist in Syria.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor confirmed that seven people, including two schoolchildren, had been charged with terrorism offences. Paty, 47, was posthumously awarded the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest honour, at a ceremony at the Sorbonne University in Paris on Wednesday. Emmanuel Macron said France owed it to a “quiet hero … to continue his fight for liberty and for reason”.
The French government has issued an order to dissolve a domestic militant Islamic group, the Collective Cheikh Yassine. A French government spokesperson said the organisation was “linked to Friday’s attack”. Authorities also announced that a mosque in the northeast Paris suburb of Pantin will remain closed for six months.
Named after a slain leader of the Palestinian Hamas, the ‘Collective Cheikh Yassine’ was founded in 2000 by the Islamist activist who is among the seven people accused of being accomplices to the attacker.“Samuel Paty was the victim of a conspiracy of stupidity, hate, lies … hate of the other … hate of what we profoundly are,” Macron said.
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