Violent clashes erupted in Istanbul on Monday as police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse a crowd angered by the publication of a cartoon allegedly depicting the Prophet Mohammed, according to an AFP correspondent.
The turmoil followed the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s order to arrest editors of the satirical magazine LeMan, accused of “publicly insulting religious values” by publishing the contentious cartoon.
“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 prosecutor’s office said.
The black-and-white cartoon, which circulated on social media, showed two figures hovering over a city under bombardment. One says, “Salam aleikum, I’m Mohammed,” while the other replies, “Aleikum salam, I’m Musa.”
However, LeMan’s editor-in-chief, Tuncay Akgun, speaking from Paris, told AFP the cartoon had been misunderstood and 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,” Akgun said, emphasizing the cartoon “had nothing to do with Prophet Mohammed.”
“We would never take such a risk,” he added.
Following the news, dozens of protesters targeted a bar popular with LeMan staff in central Istanbul, leading to confrontations with police. The unrest quickly escalated into clashes involving 250 to 300 people.
Cartoonist and Staff Arrested
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced via X (formerly Twitter) that the cartoonist behind the drawing, the magazine’s graphic designer, and two other employees had been arrested. Police also seized LeMan’s offices on Istiklal Avenue, with arrest warrants issued for several executives, presidential press aide Fahrettin Altin confirmed on X.
In response, LeMan defended the cartoon, stating it was deliberately misinterpreted to provoke.
“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,” the magazine said.
Akgun described the legal action as “incredibly shocking but not very surprising,” calling it “an act of annihilation” and accusing government ministers of distorting a cartoon.
“Drawing similarities with Charlie Hebdo is very intentional and very worrying,” he added, referencing the French satirical magazine attacked by Islamist gunmen in 2015, an assault that left 12 dead after it published caricatures of Prophet Mohammed.
A “Systematic Provocation”
“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 announced an investigation into the matter on grounds of “publicly insulting religious values,” writing on X:
“Disrespect towards our beliefs is never acceptable.
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 Governor Davut Gul also condemned the cartoon, criticizing “this mentality that seeks to provoke society by attacking our sacred values,” and warned:
“We will not remain silent in the face of any vile act targeting our nation’s faith.”
