Türkiye arrests 4 Cartoonists for Satirizing the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Four staff members of a Turkish satirical magazine have been arrested after allegedly publishing a cartoon that authorities claim depicts the Prophet Muhammad, a figure whose portrayal is forbidden in Islam.

The cartoon, published in the LeMan weekly magazine, depicts a Muslim and a Jewish figure – both illustrated with wings and halos – shaking hands as bombs rain down below them. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on X that Leman magazine's cartoonist was taken into custody for questioning.

The minister also shared a video of the cartoonist - identified only by his initials DP - being taken into custody on a stairwell, with hands cuffed behind the back.

“I once again condemn those who are trying to sow discord by drawing a caricature of our Prophet (Muhammad),” wrote Yerlikaya. “The person named DP who made this vile drawing has been caught and detained.” He added: “I repeat once again: These shameless people will be held accountable before the law.”

Earlier, the country's justice minister said an investigation was launched into the magazine, citing possible charges of “publicly insulting religious values”.

The caricature sparked protests outside the Istanbul office of the satirical magazine, with groups of youths, reportedly belonging to an Islamist group, hurling stones at Leman's headquarters.

The cartoon depicting Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses exchanging greetings in mid-air as missiles rain down from the sky has been circulating online.

One post reads: “For those who haven't seen or come across it, this is the cartoon. What we call a cartoon is a drawing that depicts a person, event or situation in an exaggerated, often humorous and critical way. I don't think this cartoon is intended to be a mockery or insult.”

Yilmaz Tunc, the justice minister, said that cartoons or drawings depicting Prophet Muhammad harmed religious sensitivities and social harmony. “No freedom grants the right to make the sacred values of a belief a subject of humour in an ugly way,” he wrote.

The incident evokes memories of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, when two armed gunmen stormed the offices of the French satirical magazine known for its provocative cartoons, including depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

On 7 January, which marked 10 years since the extremist attack that shocked the country and led to fierce debate about freedom of expression and religion, President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo led commemorations by laying wreaths at the site of the weekly's former offices.

"We have not forgotten them," Macron wrote on social media alongside pictures of the murdered newspaper staff including famed cartoonists Cabu, Charb, Honore, Tignous and Wolinski, who were holding an editorial meeting at the time of the assault.

Some Sunni Muslims believe in a strict interpretation of Islamic texts, according to which graphic depictions of prophets, but also other people or animals, are completely banned and considered a sin.