Turkish Intellectuals Rally to Pop Star Threatened by Islamists

Turkish singer Sezen Aksu performing in Amsterdam December 2005. Photo: EPA/RICK NEDERSTIGT

"Sezen Aksu will never walk alone," the intellectuals said in an open letter and added that they were watching President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's targeting of Sezen Aksu, which violated freedom of expression.

"We are right in front of this attack against Sezen Aksu, who has been writing, singing and gifting dozens of songs to the cultural heritage of this land for 47 years," the letter said.

Aksu's song allegedly insulted the biblical Adam and Eve. In Islam, Adam is considered the first prophet, while Eve was his wife.

Many Islamist and nationalist groups have attacked Sezen Aksu over the lyrics and have staged protests in front of her house in Istanbul.

"Some pseudo-artists have been competing with each other to belittle our national and spiritual values and insult religion under the guise of art," Murat Sahin, president of the hardline National Defence Movement, said.

President Erdogan meanwhile threatened to "cut off' the tongue of Sezen Aksu during Friday Prayers. "It is our duty to cut those tongues," he said.

Sezen Aksu responded to the critics and attacks on Saturday by sharing the lyrics of a new song. "I am the prey you are the hunter. Just shoot," Aksu wrote, adding that she will continue to write and sing.

While Islamist and nationalist groups target Turkey's foremost pop singer and composer, the government has also targeted Sedef Kabas, a senior journalist, regarding her statements about President Erdogan and her reciting a proverb.

"There is a very famous proverb that says a crowned head becomes wiser. But we see it is not true," Kabas said on Tele1 channel on Friday. "A bull does not become king just by...