The Leman controversy between Özgür Özel and Erdoğan grows: 'Someone is deceiving him badly'

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel has reacted to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who used the phrase 'Go see an eye doctor' in reference to a cartoon in LeMan Magazine. Özel said, "I advise Erdoğan to look at the cartoon and listen to my speech."

Özel responded to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who told him 'Özgür, go see an eye doctor' over a cartoon in the humor magazine LeMan that caused public outrage.

In a cartoon published on June 26, LeMan Magazine featured characters named Musa and Muhammed. Following allegations that the characters were depictions of Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses, an investigation was launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Within the scope of the investigation launched on charges of 'publicly insulting religious values,' 4 people were arrested and sent to prison.

Making a statement regarding the cartoon in question, the magazine's Editor-in-Chief stated that their intention was not to insult religion and that the characters in the cartoon were not depictions of Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses.

ERDOĞAN TARGETED ÖZEL OVER THE CARTOON

Özgür Özel, who made a statement about the cartoon, had expressed that the purpose of the LeMan magazine cartoon was not to insult religious values and that they were misunderstood.

Speaking about Özel's statements at the AKP Women's Branch Headquarters R&D Department Organization Academy Leadership School Camp Program, President Erdoğan said the following:

"I advise CHP Chairman Özel to read this telegram again and again before taking on the role of attorney for the degenerates who disrespect our Prophet through a so-called cartoon. Yesterday, he came out and put forward absurd arguments to make the baseness look innocent. He is going to great lengths to distort the facts without shame or embarrassment. I am saying only this to the CHP Chairman: If you cannot see the insult, disgrace, and provocation that millions have seen, do not look for the problem in others, look for it in yourself. Özgür, go see an eye doctor."

"SOMEONE IS DECEIVING HIM BADLY"

Responding to President Erdoğan's remarks regarding the LeMan Magazine cartoon while in İzmir, CHP Chairman Özel used the following expressions:

"Either one must think that Mr. Erdoğan has lost his capacity to understand what he reads, or someone is deceiving and misleading him badly. Is he reading what is put in front of him without doing anything else? My advice to Mr. Erdoğan is to sit down this evening when he has some free time; I know he watches me a lot.

Let him take a look at my statement from yesterday and see what I actually said. What do his words have to do with what I said? I said it in front of the entire public, and not a single person among conscientious people has come out to say otherwise. Today, they are telling Erdoğan, 'Özgür Özel defended the cartoonists who insulted the prophet.' I looked at that cartoon. Mr. Erdoğan should also take a look."

"WHOEVER DRAWS A PROPHET DOES NOT DRAW WINGS"

Özel described the cartoon in question with these words:

"Bombs are coming from both sides. Two people have lost their lives. They are rising towards the sky, they have angel wings. There are halos on their heads, they are angels. A prophet is not depicted like that. A prophet is not an angel, he does not have wings or anything like that. It is unthinkable for a prophet to be depicted anyway.

Whoever draws a prophet does not draw wings on the prophet. I said that this lynching based on this assumption was unfair. Otherwise, we did not say 'they did well' for drawing the prophet or anything like that. I told the truth. I think 95 percent of those first people who got angry, fumed, tweeted, and did whatever, did not even see the cartoon.

Go back and look at the cartoon. If you say that a prophet is depicted there, if there is anyone who claims that the one who was killed by a bomb and rose to the sky is Prophet Muhammad, then Erdoğan is right. Could Prophet Muhammad be killed by a bomb today and rise to the sky! I explained this yesterday. Self-criticism also came from many places saying, 'we didn't know it was like this, we hadn't looked, it was true, we had joined the lynching too.' Today, since yesterday, in a place where no one saw anything, they wrote to Erdoğan today that 'he is defending them'... It's funny."

News Source: 12punto