Turkish Musician Convicted of Insulting Islam on Twitter

Alex Fitzpatrick2013-04-15 15:02:25 UTC

Renowned Turkish pianist Fazil Say was convicted Monday by a court in Turkey of insulting Islam in messages he posted on Twitter.

Say, 42, received a 10-month jail sentence on a five-year suspended basis, meaning he won't be sent to jail unless he convicted of another offense during the next five years.

Turkish authorities charged Say last June with insulting Islam after retweeting an 11th-century poem that satirized the Islamic afterlife and for another message critical of a local muezzin, the person tasked with making the daily calls to prayer at mosques. He faced a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail, according to the BBC.

Say, who was in Germany for a performance at the time the conviction was handed down, denied the charges as politically motivated and as a breach of human rights and freedom of expression. The globally-recognized pianist and composer has not been shy about expressing views considered radical in Turkey, including a public admission of atheism in a news interview quoted by The New York Times.

"Would it be for the government to decide whether a person believes in God or not," said Say in the interview.

The case against Say is the latest in a string of convictions against Turkish artists and intellectuals on charges related to religion or terrorism. Freedom House, an American research and advocacy group, rates Turkey "Partly Free" and notes that "roughly 100 journalists" were jailed in Turkey at the end of 2011, mostly charged under antiterrorism laws. Turkey's legal treatment of these and other groups is often considered a roadblock in its long quest to join the European Union as a full member.

How is social media changing the way we express potentially controversial ideas in public? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images

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