Protests in Turkey Over Cartoon of Prophet Muhammad; Four Journalists Arrested

Istanbul, 1 July – (www.deccanlive.com): In Turkey, there have been major protests after a magazine published a cartoon showing the image of Prophet Muhammad, which is strictly forbidden in Islam.

The Turkish Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, called the cartoon published by Leman magazine “shameful.” He said that the magazine’s editor, graphic designer, director, and cartoonist have been arrested.

On Monday, a large number of police officers were deployed in Istanbul as angry protests took place outside the magazine’s office.

Protesters shouted slogans like:

“Tooth for a tooth, blood for blood, revenge, revenge.”

According to news reports, police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the crowd.

The Turkish Minister of Justice, Yılmaz Tunç, announced that the Chief Prosecutor’s Office has started an investigation into the matter for “insulting religious values.”

He wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter):

“Any kind of drawing or image of our Prophet not only hurts our religious feelings but also harms the peace of society.”

He also said that legal action will be taken immediately against the magazine’s staff.

The Justice Minister shared videos of the arrest of the four magazine employees on social media.

Arrest warrants have also been issued for other senior members of the magazine.

The Editor-in-Chief of Leman magazine, who is currently in Paris, said the cartoon was misunderstood and the magazine would never take such a risk.

He compared the public reaction to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo incident in France, saying it was deliberately stirred and very worrying.

In 2015, the French magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked by gunmen after publishing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.
That attack killed 12 people and was one of the worst security incidents in France’s history.