Muslim singer forced to quit French show over comments on terror attack posts
Paris: A French Muslim singer who became an overnight star after dazzling judges on a TV talent show quit the contest Friday after coming under fire for past Facebook comments about terror attacks.
Mennel Ibtissem, a 22-year-old student who wears a head scarf, was one of the top contestants on The Voice, where her English and Arabic version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah caused a sensation.
But within days of Saturday's performance she was under pressure to bow out over old Facebook messages that appeared to question the terrorist nature of attacks that claimed scores of lives in France in 2016.
The posts have been deleted but screen grabs of the remarks have been circulated on far-right websites.
In one post after the July 2016 truck attack in the city of Nice, in which 86 people were killed, she said: "Here we go, it's become a routine, an attack a week, and, as usual, the 'terrorist' takes his ID with him. It's true that when you're plotting something nasty you never forget to take your papers with you."
She was referencing a series of jihadist assaults in France in which police quickly named the killers through documents found on their bodies, including the 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people. In another post, days after two jihadists slit the throat of a priest in his Normandy church, she wrote: "The real terrorists are our government."
The singer had apologised over the remarks, saying members of her family had been celebrating Bastille Day in Nice when the driver struck and that she had been "upset" by the failure of the authorities to prevent the attack.
'Never Meant To Hurt'
But the apology failed to quell the controversy.
With private broadcaster TF1 under pressure to pull her out of the competition, including from relatives of the victims of the Nice attack, she quit on Friday.
"I never meant to hurt anyone and the mere thought that my remarks hurt others hurts me, so I have taken the decision to quit this adventure," she said in a Facebook video that has been viewed over 860,000 times.
The production company behind The Voice, ITV Studios France, said that despite her earlier apology the atmosphere on the show had become "too heavy" and hoped her decision to withdraw would "soothe tensions".
But some of her fans expressed disappointment, amid allegations of anti-Muslim bias.
On Ibtissem's Facebook page, Jihene Ferchiou wrote: "We must not delude ourselves. Your turban, your religion, your origins were the obstacle.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CM Revanth Reddy accuses China of 'encroaching' over 2,000 km of Indian land since 2014
Hyderabad, Dec 24: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday accused China of "encroaching" over 2,000 kilometres of Indian land since 2014, claiming that the "rulers" lack the courage to discuss the issue and reveal the facts.
Speaking at a book release function, Reddy also expressed concerns about the ongoing conflict between two groups in Manipur, which he attributed to the rich mineral resources in the region.
He questioned why the central government, representing 140 crore people, and the Indian forces have been unable to establish peace in the troubled northeastern state.
"Which corporate companies are encouraging internal war in Manipur?" Reddy asked, mentioning his visit to the state during Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s foot march.
"Since we are all busy with our daily lives, we fail to notice what’s happening around us. As a former defence committee member (when I was a Lok Sabha member), I cannot officially reveal the issues discussed in the meetings, but China has encroached over 2,000 sq km. The rulers lack the courage to discuss this subject or reveal the facts, and no one is taking up these issues," he alleged.
Claiming that thousands of AK-47 rifles are being used in Manipur, Reddy emphasised that issues like Chinese intrusion, the internal conflict in Manipur, and the use of illegal weapons need to be discussed in Parliament.
"Whether it is Chinese intrusion, the conflict in Manipur or the use of AK-47 rifles, an extensive discussion on these issues is necessary to control them. Only then can peace be established in this country—peace that is essential for the development of our nation," he stated.
He also recalled Colonel Santosh Babu, a Telangana native, who was martyred during the Chinese attack in 2020.
