Erdogan’s head photoshopped onto popular TV tough guy for novel
Author says he wants to portray president as a “role model”.
A new novel about the early years of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has drawn accusations of copyright infringement for its similarities to an ad for a popular TV show.
The book, titled The Man from Kasimpasa, a reference to Erdogan’s birthplace, features a cover that appears to be directly lifted from a promotion for a series called “Tatar Ramazan”, which aired two years ago.
Hurriyet newspaper describes the protagonist of the TV series as “a dark-haired desperado fighting for justice everywhere.”
Author Fehmi Demirag told one news outlet he wrote the novel “so that Tayyip Erdogan’s personal traits would serve as a role model for [Turkish] youth.”
“Turkey witnessed the Gezi incidents. The Gezi people have written close to 60 books about the incidents, but in 15 years there hasn’t been anything written about a leader who has put his mark on Turkey and the world,” Demirag said to conservative newspaper Yeni Safak, referencing 2013 anti-government protests that started in Istanbul’s Gezi park.