Turkish leaders condemn Charlie Hebdo cartoon of President Erdogan

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Picture: Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool

Turkish officials have railed against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over a cover page cartoon mocking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing it of sowing “the seeds of hatred and animosity”.

The cartoon could heighten tensions between Turkey and France which erupted over French President Emmanuel Macron’s firm stance against Islamism following the beheading of a teacher who showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for a free speech class.

The Prophet cartoons upset many in the Muslim world, but it was Mr Erdogan who led the charge against France and questioned Mr Macron’s mental state. France then recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations, a first in French-Turkish diplomatic relations.

“We strongly condemn the publication concerning our president of the French magazine, which has no respect to faith, the sacred and values,” Mr Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, wrote on Twitter.

Mr Kalin said: “The aim of these publications, that are devoid of morality and decency, is to sow seeds of hatred and animosity. To turn freedom of expression into hostility towards religion and belief can only be the product of a sick mentality.”

The cartoon depicted Mr Erdogan in his underwear holding a drink and lifting the skirt of a woman wearing an Islamic dress.

“I condemn this incorrigible French rag’s immoral publication concerning our president,” Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter. “I call on the moral and conscientious international community to speak out against this disgrace.”

Mr Macron’s stance sparked anti-France protests in Turkey and other Muslim countries, as well as calls for the boycott of French goods.

Tensions between France and Turkey have mounted in recent months over Turkish actions in Syria, Libya and the disputed Caucasus Mountains region of Nagorno-Karabakh.