Nedim Gursel: Turkish Author Tried For Insulting Islam

ISTANBUL — A Turkish author on trial over accusations that his latest book insulted Islam denied the charges Tuesday and insisted he was respectful of religion.

Nedim Gursel faces up to a year in prison if found guilty on charges of humiliating religious values and inciting religious hatred in his novel "The Daughters of Allah."

Gursel, who was born in Turkey but has French citizenship and is based in France, is the latest intellectual to be prosecuted in Turkey under laws that restrict free speech.

A case against him began last year after a citizen complained that the novel _ set in the 6th century and describing the advent of Islam _ was blasphemous. Gursel has repeatedly said his book, published in Turkey last year, is fictitious and that he did not intend to offend.

Gursel is accused of mocking religious figures in his novel.

Prosecutors investigating the case initially ruled there were no grounds to put Gursel on trial, but that decision was overturned by a court, forcing authorities to press charges.

"I am respectful of faiths," Gursel said following a court hearing Tuesday, where his trial was adjourned until June 25. "For an author to be prosecuted for a novel does not suit the Turkish Republic."

At a hearing earlier this month, prosecutors said there was no evidence the book incited hatred, raising hopes that Gursel will be acquitted. It is not unusual in the Turkish justice system for prosecutors to press for a defendant's acquittal.

In 2006, charges against Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk for insulting Turkey were dropped on a technicality. Turkey has since amended some laws in an attempt to promote free speech, and insists that few intellectuals have ended up in prison.

But human rights groups and the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, say the laws are used to harass dissident intellectuals and insist they be scrapped.

The book is scheduled to be published in France later this year.

(This version CORRECTS author faces maximum one year in prison)

Comments

[Khirad]

03:37 AM on 05/27/2009

Don't acknowledge the Armenian genocide either. That'll really get you in hot water.

Ever since the headscarf thing and the Army warning of an erosion to Turkey's secularism I've been on the watch. And as per usual we seem to have a nation not living up to its own constitution. I'm not a scholar of the Turkish constitution (anybody here one?!) but did breeze through it, and am more familiar with similar blind eyes and changes to the Pakistani constitution, etc.

[JerryLevy]

12:56 AM on 05/27/2009

Does this not make you glad you live in the U.S. or what? The last time a trial was held because someone "insulted" Christianity was what? 1500? I wish the HP posters would stop trying to say this is some sort of generic problem with all religions. It is not. State sponsored trials to end free speech is a phenomena of Communist and Muslim countries only. Iran, Turkey, and Cuba are examples.

[Khirad]

03:23 AM on 05/27/2009

Christianity got a six century head start.

[NurseTina]

09:38 PM on 05/30/2009

That is a really lame excuse. In the early Middle Ages, Islam was way more tolerant that Christianity. For some reason, Christians evolved out of the medieval times, while Muslims seem to have devolved.

[Khirad]

03:31 AM on 05/27/2009

Oh yeah, you're forgetting Scopes trial. Probably find more. The only antidote to those things are freedom of religion, secular governments and freedom of the press. Look up Gujarat. It's been ruled by a Hindu Nationalist party. It restricts speech and bans alcohol and all sorts of fun stuff.

[Naville]

10:44 PM on 05/26/2009

let us take a deep breath. I can sense some of the comments are a complete demagoguery meant to single out particular religion or people. Let us discuss the merits of this article without calling others "barbarians" or extremists.

The blasphemy laws exist in many western countries like England , Germany, greece and others.
They have varying degrees of punishments. I will give you an example;

in 2006, Manfred van H. was convicted under the§166 of the German Penal Code (blasphemy clause).

what he did or others like him did is both offensive, provocative and hateful. but my point is, do not separate out a particular country or religion for something like this.

[NewYorkStateofMind]

01:22 PM on 05/27/2009

or, we can look at reality

[NurseTina]

09:17 PM on 05/26/2009

I just don't understand how these people can be so thin skinned. If Islam is that good of a religion, it can stand up to some ridicule. When world wide riots erupt over cartoons of Mohammed, there is something wrong with that religion. Religion is suppossed to preach love and peace, not hate and war. Unfortunately, more people have died in the name of religion that any other cause. The problem is, it is not exclusively an Islamic phenomonon, the same goes for Judaism, Christianity, etc.

[NewYorkStateofMind]

04:43 PM on 05/26/2009

Turkey would like to be accepted into the EU

where is the EU in terms of criticizing barbaric actions such as these?

[Aziat]

04:35 PM on 05/26/2009

In the twenty first century, for something like this to still be a problem, is very disheartening. Why is Islam such a pure thing that it can not be insulted? Why does writing a book get you arrested or worse? Why do people, especially on HuffPo, try to justify the extremists actions and villify the author? It might not have been a sensitive move, but he does not deserve to be arrested and put on trial.
I also like how many posters like to write "but (insert religion) is also bad". When we have an article about another religion, then you can say that that religion is bad. This article is about Islam and how out of control its adherents have become. Don't change the subject. This nonsense has to stop.

[Hirnlego]

03:40 PM on 05/26/2009

...which is utterly ridiculous since religions insult themselves.

[LMPE]

02:39 PM on 05/26/2009

Pastors in mega-churches insult Christianity by preaching hate.

[gladiator777]

02:36 PM on 05/26/2009

Absolutely retarded.

[UnknownSoldier]

02:20 PM on 05/26/2009

How does one determine if Islam has been insulted, can Islam speak for itself???

[JohnFromCensornati]

04:37 PM on 05/26/2009

It is perpetually insulted. It's a given.

[lightningbolt]

02:19 PM on 05/26/2009

If Turkey wants to be called a democracy then it has to stop acting like its barbarian neighbors.

[Californian2020]

02:52 PM on 05/26/2009

No, I don't think the issue is whether he insulted people's deeply held beliefs, this guy is just trying to be Salman Rushdie II... write something very offensive, generate a ton of publicity and your book will sell like hotcakes and you gain fame and fortune. It's a simple formula!

[lightningbolt]

04:10 PM on 05/26/2009

In a real democracy, everyone should have the right to say anything they want. Offending other people should not be a crime. People insult and offend each other in the US every day, yet nobody puts them on trial because we have free speech. Making money by writing a book is not a crime either, no matter how offensive the book is to some people.

[Aziat]

04:31 PM on 05/26/2009

So for writing a book, he deserves this? Stop supporting or justifying the extremists

[Madbunny]

02:09 PM on 05/26/2009

When people are so afraid of questioning their own religion that they have laws against it, then it most definately does not deserve respect.

When the slander of fictional characters in religious texts is a crime, Santa Weeps.

[GeorgeP922]

01:33 PM on 05/26/2009

Turkey really should consider revising this law. If you want to make it a crime to smear any deity please have at it, but this law in Turkey is often misinterpreted for the purpose of being abused.

If the idea is to restrict the press, than call it what it is, I have never known Turkey to hide from her convictions.

[Mollabaji]

01:08 PM on 05/26/2009

Is he presently in turkey or france? it is not said.

[Aziat]

04:37 PM on 05/26/2009

Obviously Turkey. But with the way the Islamic extremists are slowly taking over France, I won't be surprised that in a few years things like this will happen in France also.