Istanbul, Turkey — Tensions boiled over in Istanbul on Monday after a cartoon in a Turkish satirical magazine triggered nationwide outrage, sparked violent clashes, and led to arrests, office raids, and fierce online debate — all over a single frame of art that may not be what it first appeared.
The publication at the center of the storm? LeMan, a long-standing satirical magazine known for pushing boundaries. But this time, authorities say the magazine went too far.
According to a statement from Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, an investigation has been launched and arrest warrants issued for LeMan staffers over a cartoon published in its June 26, 2025 issue.
The cartoon allegedly depicted the Prophet Mohammed, which prosecutors argue “publicly insulted religious values.”
The image shows two men greeting each other. One says, “Salam aleikum, I’m Mohammed,” and the other replies, “Aleikum salam, I’m Musa.” To many, especially in Turkey’s conservative circles, the implication was clear — and offensive.
But LeMan’s editor-in-chief, Tuncay Akgun, speaking from Paris, pushed back hard. “This is not a caricature of the Prophet.
The name ‘Mohammed’ is one of the most common in the Muslim world,” he told AFP. “It referred to a fictional character symbolizing a Muslim killed in Israeli bombardments.”
He added: “We would never take such a risk. This cartoon has been grossly misinterpreted.”
Still, that didn’t stop the backlash.
Shortly after the news broke, protesters descended on a bar popular with LeMan staffers, and the situation quickly spiraled. According to an AFP correspondent, police clashed with between 250 and 300 demonstrators, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
By nightfall, the police had arrested the cartoonist, LeMan’s editor-in-chief, and the graphic designer.
The magazine’s Istanbul offices on Istiklal Avenue were taken over by security forces, and additional arrest warrants were issued, according to a statement posted on X by presidential press aide Fahrettin Altun.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wasted no time in labeling the drawing “vile.” Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc declared the cartoon “a public insult to religious values,” adding that freedom of speech doesn’t extend to mocking sacred beliefs.
LeMan, in a series of defiant posts on X, stood by the cartoon, calling it a tribute to victims of oppression and a symbolic portrayal of Muslim suffering — not a jab at religion.
Akgun, clearly rattled but resolute, said the incident felt “like an act of annihilation.” He likened the government’s reaction to the fallout from the Charlie Hebdo tragedy in France — a comparison that many observers found both alarming and politically loaded.
“This is a very systematic provocation,” he said. “They are trying to make it look like we’re repeating Charlie Hebdo, and that’s dangerous.”
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul didn’t hold back either, accusing LeMan of “attacking sacred values” and warning that Turkey would “not remain silent in the face of such vile acts.”
The explosive mix of satire, religion, and politics has once again exposed deep rifts in Turkish society — between free expression and religious reverence, between political satire and national identity, and between an increasingly embattled press and a government that doesn’t hesitate to police the boundaries of “acceptable” discourse.
Whether the cartoon was misunderstood or maliciously intended may never be agreed upon. But one thing is certain: in modern Turkey, one cartoon can still shake the nation.
