(Bloomberg) – Turkey detained four employees of a satirical magazine, including a cartoonist accused of the depiction of Prophet Muhammad, because the government enhances its intervention against disagreement.
The cartoon, published in Leman June 26, stretched protests of Islamic fundamentalist groups outside the Istanbul magazine office on Monday. Demonstrators threw stones and chanted slogans calling for Sharia law.
The illustration that Leman denied was the cartoon of the prophet, shows two winged figures over the fighting city. “Peace with you, I’m Muhammed,” one says. Other answers: “Peace to be up to you, I MUSA,” uses the Arabic name for Moses. The authorities ordered the problem to be removed from the circulation.
The depth of Muhammad is considered to be a deeply offensive many Muslims who consider any visual representation to be a blasphemy.
Government officials and the pro-government media portrayed a cartoon as an insult. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned this as “provocation” and promised legal steps.
The incident comes in the middle of the growing criticism of the Islamic Party of President Erdogan for tightening his grip on the media, pushing social media users and silencing disagreements. Opposition politicians, journalists, YouTubers and actors have been imprisoned in recent months, while the LGBTQ community was increasingly defamated in the rhetoric of officials.
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Leman, often compared to France Charlie Hebdo – whose offices were attacked by deadly shooting 10 years ago – claimed that a drawing aimed at emphasizing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The X statement said that the name was used because it is the most common male name in the Islamic world, and insisted that the image was not supposed to intend to represent the prophet.
“The person who made this nasty drawing was caught and detained,” said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on X along with a video showing barefoot, bonds that were accompanied by the police with his head down.
-S support from Beril Acman.
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(Tagstotranslate) Turkey
