In the Muslim World, Turkey Carries the Torch of Rising Anti-France Anger

Turkey’s harsh condemnation of France’s reaction to the killing of a French teacher will help Ankara position itself as a bold leader of global political Islam, even if it risks harming Turkey’s economic ties with Paris. On Oct. 25, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, needed “mental treatment” due to his attitude toward Muslims in France, and called for a national boycott of all French consumer products. France has since recalled its ambassador to Turkey in response to Erdogan’s comments. On Oct. 18, a Chechen refugee beheaded a teacher in a Paris suburb who had shown his class satirical drawings of the Prophet Mohammed. The teacher’s execution has since rekindled French public anger against Muslims in the country. This has spurred several large rallies in support of the teacher and prominent republications of the cartoons in France, which have in turn fueled protest actions, calls...