‘Madonna of Turkey’ arrested after joke about religious schools
THE “Madonna of Turkey” has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred” and is awaiting trial after making a joke about the school system that the country’s president attended.
The arrest, ordered by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has prompted outrage among critics who believe she is being used to shore up his conservative and religious voter base ahead of elections next year.
In April the singer Gulsen joked during a concert that one of her band member’s “perversion” was the result of his schooling at an Imam Hatip religious school, a schooling system that was set up by the state to encourage young men to become imams and preachers.
The comments went largely ignored at the time before going viral online recently.
The 46-year-old singer, who is likened to Madonna, was taken from her support for LGBT people has previously made her a target for religious conservatives in Turkey.
The Turkish premier, as well as many other figures in his ruling AKP party, attended the Islamic schooling system and has expanded the number of schools under a vow to make the country more “pious”.
The schools, which have been pumped with public funding under Mr Erdogan’s premiership, have faced scandals involving sexual abuse.
‘I made a joke with my colleagues. It has been published by people who aim to polarise society’
Gulsen apologised for the comments and any offence caused, adding that her words had been used by those seeking to “polarise society”.
“I made a joke with my colleagues, with whom I have worked for many years in the business. It has been published by people who aim to polarise society,” she said.
Her request to be released from custody pending the outcome of a trial was rejected.