Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned as a "vile provocation" a cartoon in a satirical magazine that appeared to depict Prophets Mohammad and Moses, amplifying an outcry by religious conservatives after the arrest of four cartoonists.

The cartoon, published a few days after the end of a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, appears to show Mohammad, Islam's chief prophet, and Moses, one of Judaism's most important prophets, shaking hands in the sky while missiles fly below in a wartime scene.

It was criticised by religious conservatives and Erdogan's ruling party, which called it an "Islamophobic hate crime," even as the magazine Leman apologised to readers who felt offended and said it had been misunderstood.

"We will not allow anyone to speak against our sacred values," Erdogan said in televised remarks, adding that authorities would closely follow the legal process.

"Those who show disrespect to our Prophet and other prophets will be held accountable before the law," he said.

Devout Muslims regard depictions of the Prophet Mohammad as blasphemous.

The four Leman cartoonists were detained late on Monday over the drawing.

In a statement on X, Leman said "the work does not refer to the Prophet Mohammad in any way".

The cartoonist, Dogan Pehlevan, had sought to highlight "the suffering of a Muslim man killed in Israeli attacks", it said, adding there was no intent to insult Islam or its prophet.

The magazine urged authorities to counter what it called a smear campaign, and to protect freedom of expression.

More than 200 people rallied against Leman in central Istanbul on Tuesday, despite a ban on gatherings and a heavy police presence.

One protester, public servant Muhammed Emin Necipsoy, said the magazine's defence seemed insincere.

"There is a subtle emphasis there on both the Prophet (Mohammad) and the Prophet Moses," he said.

Late on Monday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a video on X showing police officers detaining Pehlevan, the cartoonist, with his hands cuffed behind his back as he was dragged up a stairwell.

He also shared videos of three other men being removed from their homes and dragged into vans. (Reuters)