A cartoon of Muhammad published by LeMan magazine, one of Turkey's main satirical magazines, has led to the arrest of four members of the media. Following the arrests, several individuals have attacked the magazine's headquarters in Istanbul, reports Efe.
As reported by the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet on Tuesday, the attack took place around midnight when an unspecified number of individuals went to the magazine's headquarters and broke the building's windows by throwing stones.
Shouting "Either we die or they do!" and "Long live Sharia (Islamic law)," the attackers demanded to burn down the building, the newspaper indicates.
Shortly before, the Minister of Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, had announced on social media the arrest of the cartoonist and three executives of the magazine, describing the depiction of Muhammad and Moses in a critical setting of the recent war between Israel and Iran as a "vile drawing."
The Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunç, simultaneously announced the opening of a judicial investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
"Following the caricature of our prophet drawn by a satirical magazine, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has initiated a judicial investigation for 'publicly insulting religious values,'" the minister wrote on his X account. "No freedom grants the right to satirize offensively the sacred elements of a belief," he added.
In the June 26 issue of the magazine, Muhammad and Moses, both revered as prophets in Islam and Judaism, appear as two elderly figures meeting in the air above a devastated city by bombings. The two figures greet each other with the phrases 'Selamün Aleyküm' (the Arabic greeting) and 'Aleyhem Shalom' (the Jewish greeting).
"In this cartoon, the artist intended to portray a Muslim killed by Israel, highlighting the legitimacy of the oppressed Muslim people. There was no intention to insult religious values," LeMan explains in a statement.
"We reject the stain projected on us, as there is no representation of the prophet. It would be extremely malicious to interpret the cartoon in that way," they add.
Although there is no political element in the style or language of the cartoon that clearly suggests that Muhammad or Moses were "insulted," critics of LeMan have called for the closing of the magazine, and some even incite aggressive actions against the publication.
"This vile act against our beloved Prophet will receive the punishment it deserves under the law," wrote the Minister of Interior in a statement published on X.
"The man named D.P., author of this vile drawing, has been captured and arrested," as well as the graphic designer, C.O., the editor-in-chief, Z.A., and the institutional director of the magazine, A.Y., he added in the brief note, published alongside photos showing the arrested individuals being handcuffed in the nighttime police operation.
Turkish media report that an order was also issued to confiscate the corresponding issue of the magazine, and the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has taken steps to block access to its social media accounts.