The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned the escalation of populist rhetoric inciting against religions and affirmed its absolute rejection of all forms of hate speech based on belief, race or religion including the deliberate offending of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

“This inflammatory speech has witnessed a dangerous turn with the increasing institutional and systematic calls for the repeated targeting of nearly two billion Muslims around the world through the deliberate offending of the noble Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him,” the ministry said in a statement.

It warned against deliberately offending the noble prophet, which resulted in “an increase in the waves of hostility toward Muslims, who constitute a key component of society in different countries of the world”.

Qatar called on the international community to stand up to its responsibilities by rejecting hate speech and incitement, stressing that it will continue to support the values of tolerance and co-existence and work toward the establishment of the principles of international peace and security.

READ: France demands Arab countries prevent boycott of French business over insults of Prophet

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron publicly defended blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Macron made the remarks during a tribute to high school teacher Samuel Paty who was beheaded earlier this month for showing insulting cartoons of the prophet during a civics class.

Macron said France would not “give up” the caricatures and pledged to tackle “Islamic separatism” in the country.

The president’s speech, which has led to an increase in Islamophobic attacks in France, has also increased calls for Muslims to boycott French goods.