Clashes erupted in Istanbul on the evening of June 30, with police employing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse an angry crowd. The unrest followed allegations that a satirical magazine had published a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.
The incident occurred after the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of editors of LeMan magazine, stating they had published a caricature “publicly offending religious values.”
“The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation regarding the publication of a caricature in the June 26, 2025 issue of LeMan magazine that publicly offended religious values, and arrest warrants have been issued for the individuals involved,” the office announced.
Controversial Image and Magazine’s Defense
A copy of the black-and-white image, circulated on social media, depicts two figures flying above a city under bombardment. “Salam alaikum, I am Muhammad,” one character says, greeting the other, who replies, “Alaikum salam, I am Musa.”
However, LeMan’s editor-in-chief, Tuncay Akgun, told AFP that the image was misinterpreted and “is not a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.”
“In this work, the name Muhammad was used for a Muslim killed in Israel’s bombings. More than 200 million people in the Islamic world are named Muhammad,” he stated, adding that the caricature “has no connection to the Prophet Muhammad.” He emphasized, “We would never risk” such a thing.
Protests, Arrests, and International Comparison
Following news of the arrest warrants, dozens of angry protesters attacked a cafe frequently visited by LeMan staff in central Istanbul, leading to clashes with police. An AFP correspondent reported that between 250 and 300 people were involved in the confrontation.
Through posts on X (formerly Twitter), Turkey’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, confirmed that police had arrested the cartoonist responsible for the “repugnant drawing,” the magazine’s graphic designer, and two other staff members. Police also took control of the magazine’s offices on Istiklal Street, and arrest warrants have been issued for several other magazine leaders, according to a post on X by Turkish Presidency spokesperson, Fahrettin Altin.
On the same platform, LeMan magazine defended the cartoon, asserting it was intentionally misunderstood to cause provocation. “The cartoonist wanted to portray justice for oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim killed by Israel. He never intended to demean religious values,” the statement read.
Akgun described the arrest warrants for members of the magazine, a satirical opposition bastion founded in 1991, as “shocking, but not very surprising.”
“This is an act to destroy us. Ministers are involved in this whole issue; this caricature is being misinterpreted. Making comparisons to Charlie Hebdo is malicious and very disturbing,” he said, referring to the French satirical magazine whose offices were attacked in 2015 by armed Islamists after it published mocking caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, an attack that killed 12 people.
