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Tensions remain high in France following a knife attack in Nice where three people were killed by a man shouting in Arabic. The French president described the attack as Islamist terrorism and he said France would not give up its values. Shortly after the attack, police shot dead a reportedly Islamic man who was threatening passers-by in the nearby city of Avignon.

Meanwhile in Bangladesh and Indonesia people are taking to the streets calling for a boycott of French goods after President Macron defended cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

So is there a balance to be found between secularism, freedom of speech, and respect for religion?

To understand why Muslims worldwide are so upset, we spoke to Joram Van Klaveren, a former far-right wing politician in the Netherlands who became a Muslim.

"It's like secularism on steroids. It's very strict and because of what happened it gets even (more) intensified... There's always going to be some kind of tension between freedom of speech and sensibilities of people."

(Photo: Muslim demonstrators in Hyderabad, India call for a boycott of French products and denounce Macron for
his comments over the Prophet Mohammed caricatures on October 30, 2020. Credit: Getty Images)

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