UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov says that he hopes “the Almighty” disfigures the face of French President Emmanuel Macron, after the French leader defended the rights of publishers to publish cartoons depicting or referencing Islamic figures.
Khabib posted the harsh condemnation of Macron in an Instagram post in which he blasted Macron “and his followers” for offending “more than one and a half billion Muslim believers.”
“May the Almighty disfigure the face of this scum and all his followers, who, under the slogan of freedom of speech, offend the feelings of more than one and a half billion Muslim believers. May the Almighty humiliate them in this life, and in the next. Allah is quick in calculation and you will see it,” Khabib wrote in Russian.
The photo on the post, had a picture of Macron with a boot imprint across his face.
Khabib added, “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,” Khabib added.
The champion fighter also highlighted an ominous verse from the Koran, which read: “Surely those who offend Allah and His Messenger are condemned by Allah in this world and the Hereafter. And He has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.”
The condemnation of Macron comes after the French president defended the rights of publishers such as those from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, to publish cartoons which depicted the Prophet Muhammad, or referenced other figures in Islam.
France has recently been the scene of gruesome terrorist attacks by Muslims.
In October, a schoolteacher named Samuel Paty was beheaded by a Muslim Chechen refugee. More recently, on Thursday, three people were killed in the town of Nice, were stabbed to death in an attack that Macron called an “Islamist terrorist attack.”
Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the UFC last weekend after his successful title defense against fellow lightweight Justin Gaethje. Despite that, it’s expected that Nurmagomedoz would return for another fight to improve his record to 30-0. Though, after these incendiary comments about Macron, that anticipated return could prove problematic.