Turkey: Pop star lambasted after mocking religious schools
Turkish pop star Gulsen faces arrest over her remarks concerning religious schools (imam-hatip in Turkish) after prosecutors in Istanbul charged her for "inciting the people into hatred and animosity."
The investigation started as video footage from one of her concerts circulated on social media, where she was heard saying "He had studied at a imam-hatip school before. This is where his perversion comes from." She does not say the name of the person in the video.
The prosecutor's office asked the police to bring the singer to the prosecutor's office in a ‘present form’, Posta newspaper reported, meaning the police will take her from where she is anytime during the day. She will be transferred to the prosecutor's office after the completion of his procedures at the police station.
The singer was also slashed last week when she vowed a LGBT flag on scene and said “those who do not like this can leave.”
The remarks by the offbeat artist sparked an immense reaction among the conservatives in Turkey as a hardcore religious magazine drew her as in a pool of turd and several conservative journalistes asked the imam hatip alumni to rain her down with lawsuits.
Kirli zihniyetini İmam Hatiplerin üzerine kusmana müsaade etmeyeceğiz zihni sapık Gülşen! #GülşenTutuklansın pic.twitter.com/ifsV1y81gq
— Misvak Dergi (@misvakdergi) August 24, 2022
Thousands more on Twitter flogged the artist with hashtags asking for her arrest and telling her to know her place.
Officials from the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) and government also were among the first who cast the stone.
Generating hate is not art. Spreading hate is not an artist's activity, said Omer Celik, the AKP’s spokesperson on Twitter
Nefret üretmek bir sanat dalı değildir. Nefret yaymak bir sanatçı faaliyeti değildir.
— Ömer Çelik (@omerrcelik) August 25, 2022
Toplumun belirli bir kesimini “sapıklık” iddiası ile hedef almak ve Türkiye’yi ayrıştırmaya çalışmak nefret suçudur ve insanlık ayıbıdır...
