Turkey says cartoon depicting prophets is ‘Islamophobic hate crime'
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Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Turkish cartoonist jailed pending trial over drawing accused of insulting Prophet
A Turkish court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan and three others pending trial, after a drawing in their satirical magazine stirred outrage among religious conservatives and condemnation by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Pehlevan faces charges, which he denies, of inciting hatred and insulting the president, according to a court document. Justice Minster Yilmaz Tunc said the four had been arrested. The cartoon, published shortly after war ended between Israel and Iran, showed two elderly men named Mohammad and Moses shaking hands in the sky while missiles flew below — a scene critics said blasphemously referenced Muslim and Jewish prophets. On Tuesday, Erdogan called the Leman magazine cartoon a 'vile provocation' and vowed that 'those who show disrespect to our Prophet and other prophets will be held accountable before the law.' His AK Party called it an Islamophobic hate crime. In a court statement seen by Reuters, Pehlevan denied targeting religious figures, saying the names were commonly used and intended to represent ordinary victims of war. 'If I hadreferred the prophets, I would have used an expression like 'Prophet',' he said. 'The cartoon is a call for peace.' Pehlevan faces charges of 'inciting hatred and enmity' and 'insulting the president', the court document said. Three other Leman staff members — the managing editor, graphic designer, and administrative director — were also referred to court under similar charges. Leman has apologized to readers who felt offended and said the cartoon was misunderstood. It said Pehlevan sought to portray the suffering of civilians in wartime and that there was no intent to insult Islam.
Arab News
2 days 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
2 days 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.
