1 France, Macron & Islam: there is gulf of misunderstanding over this now. Many in developing countries do not understand history of French laicité, influenced by strong strand of anticlericalism, that underpins the tradition of satire and disrespect towards authority of any kind

2. And few non-Muslims have any comprehension of just how very offensive insulting depictions of the Prophet are to Muslims, many of whom see them, not unreasonably, as deliberate provocations that just cannot be ignored

3. Macron's response is problematic. After Charlie Hebdo one Libyan, Hend @LibyaLiberty, summed the sentiment up well: “1.6 billion Muslims want to express solidarity for a crime, and yet you are telling them that to do so they must accept ridicule. No."

4. This is NOT to excuse anything. But in largely post-Christian Europe, tolerance is often just indifference. The words "sacred" and "blasphemous" have lost their awe and power. They do not understand what billions of religious feel, as expressed by a v moderate former Malaysian

5...law minister Zaid Ibrahim to me in 2015: “The French position on free speech that allows for inciting hatred and insulting Islam is certainly not to be followed,” he replied. “Insulting any religion will only bring problems to a country, and for what purpose?"

6. Equally countries in which religion is central need to grasp that unfettered free speech is a kind of religion - it has all the force of one - in places like France. It will be passionately and unambiguously defended

7. I wrote about this in 2015
https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/after-charlie-hebdo-is-religion-dividing-or-uniting-the-world-1.27625?videoId=5606881154001
Same issues and deeply held beliefs still apply. Needless to add, this NEVER justifies violence or murder. Both sides need to try to understand each others' mindsets. That doesn't mean agreeing w each other. But it might help.