October 30, 2020
Famed mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov on Friday reacted strongly to French President Emmanuel Macron's recent statements on Islam that have offended Muslims across the globe.
The MMA star, taking to Instagram, shared a photo that has a boot print over the face of the French president.
"May the Almighty disfigure the face of this creature and all its followers, who, under the slogan of freedom of speech, offend the feelings of more than one and a half billion Muslim believers," Khabib wrote.
"May the Almighty humiliate them in this life, and in the next. Allah is quick in calculation and you will see it," he added.
The post went on to state: “We are Muslims, we love our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) more than our mothers, fathers, children, wives and all other people close to our hearts. Believe me, these provocations will come back to them, the end is always for the God-fearing.”
The MMA fighter — who has 25 million followers on Instagram — has received almost two million likes on his post.
Muslims around the globe are incensed at Macron after the French president referred to Islam as a religion "in crisis" and refused to "give up" caricatures depicting Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
For Muslims, any depiction of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is seen as an insult and deeply offends the community.
Following Macron's comments, several Muslim countries, including Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, and Pakistan have responded strongly, with some calling for a boycott of French products.