Charlie Hebdo sparks fury with cartoon of Turkey’s President Erdogan in underpants
- Cover of French satire magazine features caricature of Turkey’s president lifting dress of woman to reveal her backside
- Erdogan has been feuding with French leader Macron who said Islam was a religion ‘in crisis’
Turkey on Tuesday accused French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo of “cultural racism” over a front-page cartoon for its latest edition that mocks President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We condemn this most disgusting effort by this publication to spread its cultural racism and hatred,” Erdogan’s top press aide, Fahrettin Altun, tweeted.
“French President Macron’s anti-Muslim agenda is bearing fruit! Charlie Hebdo just published a series of so-called cartoons full of despicable images purportedly of our President.”
The front-page caricature of Wednesday’s edition of Charlie Hebdo, released online on Tuesday night, shows Erdogan in a T-shirt and underpants, drinking a can of beer and lifting up the skirt of a woman wearing a hijab to reveal her naked bottom.
“Ooh, the prophet!” the character says in a speech bubble, while the title proclaims “Erdogan: in private, he’s very funny”.
Charlie Hebdo’s intervention came during an escalating war of words between Erdogan, Macron and other European leaders after the beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by a suspected Islamist attacker this month.