At first, people gathered near the country’s biggest mosque, Baitul Mukarram, and marched towards the French embassy.
After the police stopped the crowd in the Shantinagar area, people blocked roads on the nearby streets for several hours.
#hugecrowd#SamuelPaty #Bangladesh #Dhaka #boycottfrance #BoycottFranceProduct #We_Love_Muhammad_ﷺ #we_love_prophet_muhammad_ﷺ_challenge #Muslim #ShameOnYouMacron pic.twitter.com/71Vet8TKy5
— An_as(আনাছ)🔥 (@anasbhuiyan0) November 2, 2020
Hifazat-e Islam Secretary General Junaid Babu Nagari said during the protest that Dhaka needs to cut diplomatic ties with Paris and boycott all French products, according to the news agency.
Mass Protest In #Dhaka city of Bangladesh, Against France.#boycottfranceproducts #boycottfrance #we_love_mohammad_ﷺ_challenge pic.twitter.com/BjSmM84p8o
— Shaiful Islam (@Shaiful_Islam76) November 2, 2020
The Islamist group also urged Bangladeshi authorities to officially condemn France. In addition, Nagari called on France to apologise to the Muslim world.
Over half a million Muslims marched in the streets of Bangladesh''s capital on Monday in the country''s largest protest yet against the French president''s support of freedom of expression that allow caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad Saw#BoycottFrenceProducts pic.twitter.com/N1So5KLOYx
— faizan (@faizan0008) November 2, 2020
The president stressed that France would not disavow the cartoons and continue to defend freedom of expression.
Macron’s speech was met with a backlash in the Muslim world, as many consider cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to be blasphemous. Amid calls to boycott French products, Macron has said that he understood the feelings of Muslims but maintained that radical Islam is a threat to all.
