Who's Insulting Islam: Fazil Say or His Punishers?
The conviction of composer Fazil Say for blasphemy based upon a series of tweets has elicited outrage among pro-democracy advocates, writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz.
On Monday, April 15, I sent out a tweet: “In 21st century’s Turkey, someone received a prison sentence for citing a poem written in the 11th century.”
I was but one of those tens of thousands who were protesting the prison sentence given to internationally renowned pianist and composer Fazil Say. Say has received a postponed 10-month prison sentence for blasphemy for allegedly “denigrating religious values,” which is a punishable crime under Article 216/3 of the Turkish penal code.
