Turkey says cartoon depicting prophets is ‘Islamophobic hate crime'
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Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Erdogan condemns blasphemous cartoon
ANKARA, ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned as a 'vile provocation' a blasphemous cartoon in a satirical magazine. The cartoon was criticized by religious conservatives and Erdogan's ruling party, which called it an 'Islamophobic hate crime,' even as the magazine Leman apologized to readers who felt offended and said it had been misunderstood. 'We will not allow anyone to speak against our sacred values,' Erdogan said in televised remarks, adding that authorities would closely follow the legal process. 'Those who show disrespect to our Prophet and other prophets will be held accountable before the law,' he said. Four Leman cartoonists were detained late on Monday over the drawing. The government said an inquiry was launched under a penal code article that criminalizes incitement to hatred and enmity. Crowds rallied against Leman in central Istanbul on Tuesday, despite a ban on gatherings and a heavy police presence. Late on Monday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a video on X showing police officers detaining Pehlevan, the cartoonist, with his hands cuffed behind his back as he was dragged up a stairwell. He also shared videos of three other men being removed from their homes and dragged into vans, one of them barefoot. 'The individual who drew this vile image, D.P., has been apprehended and taken into custody. These shameless people will be held accountable before the law,' Yerlikaya wrote. The government said an inquiry was launched under a penal code article that criminalizes incitement to hatred and enmity. A group called Islamic Solidarity Platform called a protest on Tuesday, prompting police to shut Taksim Square and Istiklal, the city's busy shopping thoroughfare. The group of around 300 protesters shouted slogans at the magazine. According to a correspondent, the protesters were far less aggressive than those who rallied on Monday night, when around 400 people tried to storm a bar frequented by the magazine staff.
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Arab News
Clashes in Istanbul over blasphemous cartoon
ISTANBUL: Clashes erupted in Istanbul Monday with police firing rubber bullets and tear gas to break up an angry mob after allegations that a satirical magazine had published a blasphemous cartoon, an AFP correspondent said. The incident occurred after Istanbul's chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of the editors at LeMan magazine on grounds it had published a cartoon which 'publicly insulted religious values.' 'The chief public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the publication of a cartoon in the June 26, 2025 issue of LeMan magazine that publicly insults religious values, and arrest warrants have been issued for those involved,' the prosecutor's office said. As the news broke, several dozen angry protesters attacked a bar often frequented by LeMan staffers in downtown Istanbul, provoking angry scuffles with police, an AFP correspondent said. The scuffles quickly degenerated into clashes involving between 250 to 300 people, the correspondent said. In several posts on X, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said police had arrested the cartoonist responsible for 'this vile drawing', the magazine's graphic designer and two other staffers. Police had also taken over the magazine's offices on Istiklal Avenue and arrest warrants had been issued for several other of the magazine's executives, presidential press aide Fahrettin Altin wrote on X. In a string of posts on X, LeMan defended the cartoon and said it had been deliberately misinterpreted to cause a provocation. 'The cartoonist wanted to portray the righteousness of the oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim killed by Israel, he never intended to belittle religious values,' it said. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation had been opened on grounds of 'publicly insulting religious values.' 'Disrespect toward our beliefs is never acceptable,' he wrote on X. Istanbul governor Davut Gul also lashed out at 'this mentality that seeks to provoke society by attacking our sacred values. 'We will not remain silent in the face of any vile act targeting our nation's faith,' he warned.
Al Arabiya
14 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Turkey says cartoon depicting prophets is ‘Islamophobic hate crime'
A cartoon published by Turkish satirical magazine Leman depicting prophets was an 'Islamophobic hate crime,' ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said on Tuesday.
