Sri Lankan Muslim Congress MP, Hafiz Naseer Ahamed, has called for a boycott of French products following French President's statements this month describing Islam as a religion "in crisis".

In his statement, the Ahamed condemned France for it's divisive remarks on Islam and it's support of the controversial religious caricatures as freedom of speech. He added that France is suppressing the religious freedom of Muslims and marginalising the community by failing to understand that “Islam is not spread by sword or by plot.”

Earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron said that "Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country." He has also defended satirical outlets for publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which has led to a social media campaign calling for a boycott of French products from supermarkets in Arab countries and Turkey. 

Macron's comments followed the killing of a middle school teacher, Samuel Paty, who showed his pupils drawings of the prophet. Visual depictions of the prophet are forbidden in Islam and the caricatures in question are found to be offensive to Muslims. 

French authorities responded to the killing of the schoolteacher by an Islamist extremist by launching a harsh crackdown with security services investigating associations, including religious schools and mosques.

Read the statement here.