Islam Times - UK magazine offers £1,000 for most offensive Erdogan poem

Islam Times - A British magazine has launched a contest to choose the most offensive poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is currently pursuing legal action against a German comedian over similar satirical verses.

Earlier in the month, German television aired Jan Boehmermann's satirical poem that poked fun at Erdogan. But following backlash from Ankara, in a widely criticized move, German Chancellor Angela Merkel permitted court action to be carried out against the comedian who has since been under police protection.

ZDF has apologized for the poem and removed it from the internet, saying the poem "had crossed the line into slander."

On Tuesday, The Spectator offered £1,000 ($1,439) for the best reader-submitted poem.

“The fact such a trial could even be contemplated demonstrates that Germany is becoming little more than a satrapy [province] of Erdogan's," said commentator Douglas Murray who announced the competition.

"I'm a free-born British man... In honor of this fact I have spent the weekend writing rude limericks about Mr Erdogan,” he said. "And I would hereby like to invite all readers to join me in a grand Erdogan limerick competition."