In recent weeks, users of Turkish social media services have raged over the Charlie Hebdo massacre. The staff members of the French satirical magazine were murdered by terrorists affiliated with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula because they published cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. As a country that moves between an Islamic identity and a democratic character and strives to be considered part of the Western world, the massacre laid a trap for Turkey. On one hand, citizens of Turkey generally and the AKP government in particular consider the caricatures gross insults to Islam hiding under the guise of free expression. On the other hand, many Turks recoiled at the massacre for many reasons, including its contribution to the increasingly anti-Muslim atmosphere in Europe. Therefore, the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu joined world leaders in the mass march in Paris, and stressed that there is no connection between the abhorrent act of terrorism and the religion of Islam.
These ambivalent feelings about the massacre were also clearly reflected on social media. Like users from around the world, Turkish users adopted the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie immediately after the massacre, expressed their condolences to the families of the murder victims, stressed the sanctity of life, and praised freedom of expression. Social media were also used to organize a demonstration declaring “We are all Charlie” on Istiklal Street in Istanbul (pictured). On the other hand, other Turkish users accused the cartoonists of “inviting murder” and even praising the killers. This support also moved beyond cyberspace. Posters in Tatvan in eastern Turkey proclaimed: “Rest in peace Kouachi brothers who exacted the prophet’s revenge. May Allah accept your sacrifice on his behalf. When you [the West] attack, it is called ‘democracy,” when we take revenge it is ‘terrorism.’” Pictures of the signs distributed on social media platforms were greeted with strong responses and the Tatvan municipality was quickly forced to apologize and remove them, claiming they had been hung without its permission.[1]
At the same time, conspiracy theories began to spread on Turkish social media claiming that agents of the Israeli Mossad were behind the attacks. According to these theories, the massacre was motivated by Israel’s desire to punish France for its support for the establishment of a Palestinian state at the UN, and in order to blacken the name of Islam around the world. The subsequent killing of four Jews at the Hyper-Cacher market was, in turn, explained as an Israeli attempt to blur its involvement in the Charlie Hebdo attack. As indefensible as they may be, these conspiracy theories also spread from the Internet to government-identified media outlets in Turkey. Even the Mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek, known for his anti-Israeli positions, openly pointed an accusatory finger at Jerusalem.[2]
The participation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Paris march only added fuel to the flames, and was the subject of strident responses on SNS. In the spirit of comments made by President Erdoğan, who sharply criticized Netanyahu’s presence in Paris and charged him with responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians during Operation Protective Edge, many users adopted the slogan, “Netanyahu is the biggest terrorist.”[3] In addition, many joined Erdoğan’s warning about Islamaphobic backlash and his criticism of European countries’ “hypocritical behavior.” These users claimed that while European governments limit the freedom of speech by severely punishing Holocaust denial, they respond in very differently when sacred symbols of Islam are desecrated, as in the case of Charlie Hebdo.
The storm surrounding Charlie Hebdo gained renewed momentum when the front page of the next issue also featured a drawing of the prophet Mohammed. When the design was announced, users who objected to the distribution of the new magazine in Turkey organized under the slogans “We are not Charlie” and “Don’t allow distribution of Charlie Hebdo in my country.”[4] Online protests, as well as private petitions for a restraining order to block distribution of the magazine, led to a ruling forbidding its distribution on grounds of protecting sacred, religious symbols. Furthermore, access to Internet sites showing the caricatures was blocked. Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan stressed his full support for this decision and tweeted, from his account: “Attacks on the prophet aren’t free speech, but rather provocation.”[5]
A different position was expressed by the Kemalist newspaper, Cumhuriyet, which lost many journalists to political assasinations during the 1990s because of its repeated criticism of political Islam’s growth in Turkey. On the front page, the editors of Cumhuriyet announced their intention to publish the next issue of Charlie Hebdo in Turkey as a special supplement, without the front page caricature of the prophet Mohammed. However, before Cumhuriyet was able to act on its intention, the police raided its editorial offices to ascertain that the controversial page was indeed removed. Following this raid, many Kemalists protested under the slogan “We must protect Cumhuriyet” and in favor of freedom of expression in Turkey.[6] Simultaneously, opponents of distributing Charlie Hebdo in Turkey mounted their own demonstration and chanted slogans like “Kouachi brothers: We protect your honor.”[7]
The massacre at Charlie Hebdo and the resulting public discourse in Turkey highlights, once again, the precarious position of the country as it vacillates between two opposite poles. On one hand, under the Erdoğan government, Islam has returned to the center of public life. On the other hand, Turkey still strives to be part of the West, and it seems that the European values it absorbed in previous decades have not lost their hold on the citizenry. Therefore, the Turkish public is torn between its desire to express complete support for freedom of expression and its recoiling from desecrating symbols of Islam. The protests at Cumhuriyet are a good representation of the practical consequences of these opposing currents in Turkish society, while the response of Ankara, including Davutoğlu’s participation in the March in Paris while refusing to associate terrorism with Islam and the fear that Erdoğan expressed about increasing Islamophobia, are evidence of Turkey’s desire to remain on the fence, and locate itself on the blurred boundary between Islam and the West.
Notes
[1] “Tatvan’da asılan afiş sahte mi? Kaldırıldı mı?,” T24, January 10, 2015, http://t24.com.tr/haber/tatvanda-olay-yaratan-afis-allahin-resulunun-ocu....
[2] “Ankara Mayor Gökçek: Mossad is behind Paris attacks,” Today’s Zaman, January 12, 2015, http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_ankara-mayor-gokcek-mossad-is-behin....
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_ankara-mayor-gokcek-mossad-is-behind-paris-attacks_369544.html [Accessed: January 15, 2015]
[3] #EnBüyükTeröristNetanyahu , #NetanyahuWarCriminal
[4] #ÜlkemdeCharlieHebdoDağıtılamaz[4] #BenCharlieDegilim #JeNeSuisPasCharlie #IamNotCharlie #IchBinNichtCharlie
[5] “Twitter’da hakaret, küfür, tehdit ve nefret söylemi dolu kampanya: #ÜlkemdeCharlieHebdoDağıtılamaz,” T24, January 14, 2015, http://t24.com.tr/haber/twitterda-hakaret-kufur-tehdit-ve-nefret-soylemi....
http://t24.com.tr/haber/twitterda-hakaret-kufur-tehdit-ve-nefret-soylemi-dolu-kampanya-ulkemdecharliehebdodagitilamaz,283664 [Accessed: January 15, 2015]
[6] #CumhuriyeteSahipCik #cumhuriyetteyasakolmaz #cumhuriyet
[7] Kuaşi kardeşler onurumuzdur