Erdogan Condemns Muhammad Cartoon in Turkish Magazine

Jakarta –

Leman Magazine in Türkiye provoked residents’ anger after loading the Prophet Muhammad’s cartoon. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the manufacture of the cartoon and called it a provocation action.

“This is a provocation that is clearly disguised as humor, heinous provocation,” Erdogan said. AFPTuesday (1/7/2025).

Erdogan said the manufacture of the Prophet Muhammad’s cartoon by Leman magazine was also part of the hate speech. He supports the legal process to those involved in making the cartoon.

“Those who are insolent towards our prophets and other prophets will be held accountable before the law,” Erdogan explained.

Erdogan also said that the authorities had confiscated all copies of the publication and took legal action against the issuance. At present four Leman magazine staff have also been arrested.

The editor in Chief Majala Leman was arrested.

A cartoonist who works for Satir Leman magazine was detained by Turkish police to be examined on Monday (6/30) after reaping controversy due to caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

In the statement, the Office of the Attorney General Turkish said that he had opened an investigation of the caricature published by the magazine on June 26, which was judged by “openly demeaning religious values.”

“The arrest warrant has been issued to those involved,” said the Prosecutor’s Office. The arrest warrant also included editor-in-chief and editorial manager Leman.

Turkish Justice Minister, Yilmaz Tunc, previously said that the cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad was an insult to religious sensitivity and social harmony. Ambar cartoon in question and uploaded on social media, seemed to show the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet Moses shaking hands in the air while missiles fell into a city.

“There is no freedom that justifies contempt for the sacred values ​​of a religion in a disgusting way,” the Minister of Justice Tunc.

Turkish Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, confirmed that the cartoonist had been detained, and shared videos that showed him handcuffed in a hallway.

Leman magazine has also issued an apology on social media for all the misunderstandings caused and said the cartoon has been misinterpreted.

According to their statement, the magazine cartoonist actually wanted to highlight “the suffering of a Muslim man who died in Israeli attacks,” not to insult Islam.

“The name Muhammad is among the most widely used names in the world by Muslims to respect the Prophet. The cartoon does not describe the Prophet Muhammad and is not made to mock religious values,” said the magazine, while mentioning several interpretations “deliberately contain evil intentions.”

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(YGS/JBR)