Those acting ‘insolently’ towards Prophet Muhammad, other prophets will be held accountable: Turkish President

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said that those acting “insolently” towards the Prophet Muhammad and other prophets will be held accountable before the law.

“We will follow up on this,” Erdogan stated on X, after satirical magazine Leman, in its June 26 edition, featured a cartoon that alluded to the recent Israel-Iran conflict and portrayed the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet Moses shaking hands over a city reduced to rubble.

“It is a clear, vile provocation, done under the guise of humor,” the Turkish president added, stressing that the country’s security and judiciary officials “immediately took action regarding this hate crime,” with the magazine in question having been confiscated, and necessary processes have been initiated.

The disrespect shown by some “immoral” individuals, “devoid of this nation’s values and devoid of decency and manners,” towards the Prophet Muhammad is “absolutely inadmissible,” he stated.

In his speech at a meeting with Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s provincial heads, Erdogan called on especially young people not to let their anger cloud their reason.

He added that as long as they are in power, they “will not tolerate anyone insulting our sacred values.”

The publication of the cartoon sparked outrage. Social media videos show large groups of protesters gathering outside Leman’s Istanbul office, with some seen trying to force their way inside.

In Islam, visual depictions of the prophets are forbidden. Both the last Prophet Muhammad and the earlier Prophet Moses — also revered in Judaism and Christianity — are included in this prohibition.

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