The Turkish government issued an arrest warrant against a popular YouTuber for his statements on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad during a recent interview on the platform, which sparked criticism and outrage for being “insulting.”
While "secularism" is guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, an arrest warrant was issued for a Youtuber named Diamond Tema, who defended "secularism" instead of "the person who defends Sharia" in a discussion program and explained the history of Sharia… https://t.co/9zrZfFc4yV
— Murad Çobanoğlu (@muradcobanoglu) June 18, 2024
Diamond Tema runs a YouTube channel under his name with over 870,000 subscribers. In his videos, Tema, a dual Turkish and Albanian citizen, mainly discusses issues of religion, philosophy, history, and science.
Turkey’s Justice Minister, Yılmaz Tunç, announced in a post shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Istanbul is investigating Tema on charges of “fomenting hatred and enmity among the people” under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code due to his “insulting, ugly and provocative” statements about the Prophet Muhammad.
Tunç also said an arrest warrant has been issued for Tema as part of the investigation since he was discovered to have left Turkey and went abroad. Turkish authorities also requested that YouTube ban the controversial video.
Although secularism in the Republic of Turkey is protected by the Constitution "on paper", we live under a fascist religious oppression due to an Islamist government and an "opposition" that does not want to anger Islamist voters. While they insult every religion and irreligion…
— Murad Çobanoğlu (@muradcobanoglu) June 18, 2024
“Ugly and provocative statements targeting Islam and our beloved Prophet are never acceptable. The investigation is being conducted meticulously,” the justice minister said.
Tema made the remarks that sparked the outrage and the subsequent investigation during a recent interview with another Turkish YouTuber, Asrın Tok, on Tok’s YouTube channel, Yer6 Film. In the interview, Tema, who described himself as an agnostic, discussed Islam and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad with Tok, with Tema voicing his disbelief and directing his criticism at them.
He also criticized Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), over its Islamist ideology.
Turkish-Albanian writer and YouTuber Diamant Tema, who faces an arrest warrant in Turkey for alleged critical remarks on Islam on his YouTube channel, has denied insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
Read more: https://t.co/y0OamjpV21 pic.twitter.com/dv3BQV2ZCI— Balkan Insight (@BalkanInsight) June 19, 2024
Amidst the outrage on social media due to his remarks on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, Tema announced on his YouTube channel that he was forced to leave Turkey for Albania following online threats and concerns over his safety. He said he might try to return to Turkey within four to five months.
“The next time I come to Turkey, they can arrest me if they want and put me in jail; I can go to court, I can testify then. No problem at all. But I didn’t want to experience this just now when this is pushed on me when everyone wants me to die when everyone wants me to be thrown out,” Tema said in his YouTube video.
Despite being officially a secular country, investigations into popular figures over their comments on the Prophet Muhammad, Islamic law, and Islam are common in the predominantly Muslim country.
