Turkish pop star Gulsen has been imprisoned for remarks she made in front of her audience with respect to Imam Hatip’s strict schools. She has been served with penalties of reportedly “inciting hatred,” as indicated by reports.
“A joke I shared with my colleagues with whom I have worked for many years…was featured and published by those who aim to polarize society. I am sorry that my words gave material to malicious people who aim to polarize our country,” said Gulsen Bayraktar Colakoglu.
The vocalist is known for her support of LGBTQ rights and is known by her first name.
The joke that led to her capture and arrest was made in front of an audience during an April Istanbul show. She jested that one of her musical artist’s “perversions” emerged from going to a faith-based school.
Gulsen was captured at home and indicted, and her comments are being analyzed. Of course, she said she was sorry by means via social media before her capture. It makes you wonder if she knew she was about to land herself in some hot boiling water and if the statement held any true value.
The video clip of her on stage making the joke quickly went viral online and allegedly infuriated senior individuals from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-established AKP ideological group.
“Targeting a fraction of society with the allegations of ‘perversion’ and trying to separate Turkey is a crime of hatred and disgrace of humanity,” AKP representative Omer Celik said.
The state-run Anadolu Agency revealed that under court addressing, Gulsen dismissed allegations that she incited hatred and said she had an unending appreciation for the qualities and sensitivities of Turkey.
Resistance ideological group pioneer Kemal Kilicdaroglu said that Gulsen should be freed, tweeting “Winds of peace have been blowing for a long time among young people with different lifestyles. The goal is to take a joke that has exceeded its purpose and set our young people against each other.”
There are many mixed reactions to her being thrown in jail with some calling it sweet justice and others commenting by saying things such as “Religion in and of itself has become a joke. Sure, when man first created gods in their image it was probably a profound thought. It very well did a lot of good in those ancient times. Today, there is nothing that can be achieved with religion that can’t be achieved without it. It’s unnecessary and unwarranted.” – how lost that person must be.
While some in the west have not heard of her, she is quite huge in Turkey. Gulsen was born on May 29, 1976 and is a Turkish pop star. She was raised in Istanbul, she moved on from Sehremini High School. After completing High School, Gulsen signed up for Istanbul Technical University and simultaneously started performing at bars and later left the college. In 1995, while performing at a bar, she was seen by a composer and contracted with Raks Muzik for her first studio album. From there she quickly gained stardom releasing popular albums and singles. It’s just a shame to see someone so talented in music have such low taste in humor.
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News