Charlie Hebdo's Raunchy Cartoons Of Erdogan And The Widespread "Islamophobic Conflict" Macron

JAKARTA - Satire magazine Charlie Hebdo released a caricature of Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the cover of their latest issue of the magazine. The Turkish president is depicted in an obscene setting. At the same time, opinion blocs were forming among other European leaders. The Netherlands and Germany stand behind the freedom of speech that Macron defends.

Turkey responded strongly, saying the French magazine was practicing cultural racism. "We condemn the most disgusting attempts of this publication to spread racism and cultural hatred," said Erdogan's press assistant, Fahrettin Altun, quoted by SCMP, Wednesday, October 28.

“French President Macron's anti-Muslim agenda is paying off! Charlie Hebdo has just published a series of so-called cartoons full of despicable images of supposedly our President. "

The caricature entitled "Erdogan: Personally, He's So Cute" depicts Erdogan in a T-shirt and panties drinking a can of beer and lifting the skirt of a woman wearing a hijab. The caricature was released online on Tuesday night, October 27.

Charlie Hebdo's intervention comes amid heated war of words between French President Emmanuel Macron, Erdogan and a number of other European leaders. The roots of the dispute stems from the beheading of a French school teacher, Samuel Paty by his student.

Paty was beheaded after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a free speech class he was conducting. Furthermore, Macron vowed that France would stick to French secular traditions and laws that guarantee free speech.

French secular tradition and law in principle place a religious perspective in a different realm from the point of view of the state, be it social, cultural, political, educational, and others. It also gave space to what Paty was doing, even publications like Charlie Hebdo's, which were very anti-religious.

The relationship between the Paty and Charlie Hebdo cases is inseparable. The cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad released by Charlie Hebdo is the object of study that Paty shows in her class.

The cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad also caused Charlie Hebdo to be attacked by extremist groups in 2015. The attack killed 12 people, including some of the most famous cartoonists.

Macron, in his statement also called Islam a religion in crisis. This has been the main trigger for strong reactions from Muslim-majority countries in the world. Macron is said to have cornered Islam, and worst of all: perpetuating Islamophobia.

Despite the criticism, several countries - including Turkey - even boycotted French products. Opinion groups expanded after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte defended his country's right-wing politician Geert Wilders who distributed Erdogan cartoons in Ottoman hats resembling bombs with flaming fuses.

"I have a message for President Erdogan, and the message is simple: In the Netherlands, freedom of expression is one of our highest values," said Rutte.

Earlier, European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended Macron after Erdogan advised him to carry out a "mental check."