Istanbul Erupts in Protest Over Controversial Cartoon Amid Religious Insult Allegations
On Monday, clashes broke out in Istanbul as police resorted to firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse a furious crowd. This unrest followed allegations that a satirical magazine had published a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed, according to an AFP correspondent.
The turmoil began after Istanbul’s chief prosecutor issued an order to arrest the editors of LeMan magazine, claiming they had released a cartoon that “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 prosectors office said.
A black-and-white image shared on social media depicted two characters floating above a city that was under attack.
“Salam aleikum, I’m Mohammed,” says one shaking hands with the other who replies, “Aleikum salam, I’m Musa.”
The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Tuncay Akgun, spoke to AFP over the phone from Paris and clarified that the image in question had been misunderstood. He emphasized that it was “not a caricature of Prophet Mohammed.”
“In this work, the name of a Muslim who was killed in the bombardments of Israel is fictionalised as Mohammed. More than 200 million people in the Islamic world are named Mohammed,” he said, saying it had “nothing to do with Prophet Mohammed.
“We would never take such a risk.”
As the news spread, a group of furious protesters descended on a bar that’s a popular hangout for LeMan staffers in downtown Istanbul, leading to heated confrontations with the police, according to an AFP correspondent.
What started as a few scuffles quickly escalated into clashes involving around 250 to 300 people, the correspondent reported.
In a series of posts on X, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that police had apprehended the cartoonist behind “this vile drawing,” along with the magazine’s editor-in-chief and graphic designer.
The police also took control of the magazine’s offices located on Istiklal Avenue, and arrest warrants were issued for several other executives of the magazine, as noted by presidential press aide Fahrettin Altin on X.
In response, LeMan defended the cartoon in a series of posts, claiming it had been intentionally misinterpreted to provoke a reaction.
“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.
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Akgun expressed that the legal assault on the magazine, a satirical stronghold of dissent established in 1991, was “incredibly shocking but not very surprising.”
“This is an act of annihilation. Ministers are involved in the whole business, a cartoon is distorted,” he said.
“Drawing similarities with Charlie Hebdo is very intentional and very worrying,” he said of the French satirical magazine whose offices were stormed by Islamist gunmen in 2015.
The attack, which killed 12 people, occurred after it published caricatures lampooning the Prophet Mohammed.
“There is a game here, as if we were repeating something similar. This is a very systematic provocation and attack,” Akgun said.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced that an investigation has been launched based on allegations of “publicly insulting religious values.”
“Disrespect towards our beliefs is never acceptable,” he wrote on X.
“No freedom grants the right to make the sacred values of a belief the subject of ugly humour. The caricature or any form of visual representation of our Prophet not only harms our religious values but also damages societal peace.”
Istanbul’s governor, Davut Gul, expressed his frustration with “this mindset that tries to stir up trouble in society by attacking our cherished values.”
“We will not remain silent in the face of any vile act targeting our nation’s faith,” he warned.
Istanbul Erupts in Protest Over Controversial Cartoon Amid Religious Insult Allegations
