The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect Middle East tracker’s editorial stance. First published Balkan Insight, 20 February 2024
Turkish Religious Authority Seeks Lawyer’s Prosecution for ‘Insulting Islam’
© Copyright Hamdi Firat Buyuk 2024
The Turkish religious authority, Diyanet, filed a criminal complaint accusing well-known lawyer Feyza Altun of insulting religious values after she strongly criticised Islamic law on social media. Turkish public broadcaster TRT reported on Tuesday that the Turkish religious authority, Diyanet, has filed a criminal complaint against lawyer Feyza Altun, who is already under investigation and was briefly detained because of a comment she made on social media about sharia (Islamic law).
“Diyanet filed a criminal complaint against lawyer Feyza Altun on the grounds that she ‘insulted religious values’ on her social media account,” TRT wrote. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had already launched an investigation on Monday into whether Altun was responsible for “inciting people to hatred and hostility”. Altun was taken into police custody on Monday after religious and Islamist groups targeted her on social media, calling for her arrest, but she was released on Tuesday under a court order.
Under the terms of her release, Altun must present herself at a police station twice a week and has been banned from travelling abroad. “For two nights, I struggled with thousands of tweets from people who said they would put me to the sword and that I would become their concubine,” Altun told media in front of the court after she was released. Some social media users targeted Altun for insulting sharia in a post on X on February 18 in which she wrote “F**k sharia” in response to another user. Altun deleted the post after facing a backlash.
“May Allah put her in his hell. Arrest Feyza Altun,” Ahmet Mahmut Unlu, also known as Cubbeli Ahmet Hoca, a well-known fundamentalist Muslim preacher wrote on X on Monday. Altun defended her beliefs, however. “For me, what you call sharia is the Taliban mentality that stones women on the streets. In this context, I stand behind my word,” she wrote on X on Monday. “That regime will not be implemented in this country either. Modern secular law applies in this country,” she added.
Sharia is religious law based on based on Islamic scripture. When modern-day Turkey was established in 1923 as a secular republic by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, sharia was abolished. Altun had posted a Persian poem on her X account the day before, and another social media user madne a sarcastic comment under Altun's post, saying, "Feyza is experiencing a Sharia attack." In response to this comment, Altun replied, "Şeriate sokayım,” a vulgarity that can be roughly translated as “screw sharia.”
Subsequently, reacting to the comments made about her, Feyza Altun shared the message, "The Republic of Turkey is secular, and it will remain secular." The Public Prosecutor's Office in Beykoz initiated an ex officio investigation against Lawyer Feyza Altun based on the post she made on social media, citing Article 216/1 of the Turkish Penal Code, which states:
"Anyone who openly incites public animosity and hostility among different segments of the public based on social class, race, religion, sect, or region, and in case an imminent and clear danger arises for public security, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of one to three years."
Update
A Turkish lawyer who was detained on Monday for insulting Sharia, the religious law that is part of the Islamic tradition, on social media platform X, has been released from police custody on judicial probation, her lawyer announced. Feyza Altun’s detention attracted widespread criticism, with many saying she was being punished merely for defending secularism, one of the principles of the Turkish Republic enshrined in the constitution.
Altun’s lawyer, Oğuzhan Arslan, announced on X on Tuesday morning that Altun has been released from police custody on the condition that she check in at a police station twice a week as well abide by a travel ban. However, Altun’s release has been challenged by the Beykoz Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which earlier in the morning referred her to court for arrest.
An investigation was launched into Altun after she said “F*** Sharia” in response to a comment on a Persian poem she posted on X that said, “Feyza seems to have a Sharia attack,” referring to the phrase “panic attack.” Altun deleted the post after being targeted on social media, with users launching a campaign with the hashtag “#feyzaaltuntutuklansın” (Feyza Altun should be arrested.)
The Beykoz Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched the probe into Altun based on Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which says whoever openly incites segments of the society to enmity or hatred towards another group based on social class, race, religion or sectarian or regional differences in a manner that may present a clear and imminent danger to public safety shall be sentenced to imprisonment of from one to three years.
Altun received messages of solidarity from various circles. Even Geert Wilders, an anti-Islamic Dutch politician, tweeted about her detention, saying in Turkish that she is a hero. Wilders frequently criticizes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party for deviating from secularism and calls on Turks to elect a secular leader who will promote women’s rights and prevent an influx of Arab refugees into the country.
In the past few years prosecutors have taken action against thousands of people in Turkey under Article 216 of the TCK, which is feared to be mostly used to silence dissent. Meanwhile, Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) filed a criminal complaint against Altun at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday on allegations of insulting religious values and inciting hatred and enmity among the people. The Diyanet claimed that Altun’s remarks on Islamic law contravene the Turkish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights and that as a result, she must be prosecuted.
The results of a study by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) indicate that the Turkish population favors a secular and democratic government. In 2016, 75 percent of participants expressed a desire to live in a secular state, a figure that rose to 81 percent in 2020. Similarly, a significant segment of the population is satisfied with living in a democratic country. The proportion of those who prefer a legal system based on Sharia law fell from 22 percent in 2016 to 17 percent in 2020.