ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Monday lifted a decision to keep one of the country’s biggest pop stars under house arrest over a joke she made on stage about religious schools.

The case has pitted the star’s legion of younger, liberal fans against Turkish President Recep Tayyip’s core of Islamic conservative supporters.

Gulsen Bayraktar Colakoglu, a 46 year old singer who only uses her first name, was jailed last month on charges of “inciting hatred” by her comments.

A court moved her from jail to house arrest four days later.

Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, studied in an Imam Hatip school, which specialises in Islamic education.

In April, Gulsen quipped that her guitarist’s “perversion” was linked to his upbringing in such a school.

Her quip was captured on a mobile phone and republished by a pro government daily last month, causing an uproar in Erdogan’s ruling party in the run-up to next year’s general election.

Gulsen issued a statement on social media, saying she was sorry her comments were being used to stoke further divisions in the sharply polarised country.

Turkey is officially secular but the majority of the population is Muslim.

The first hearing of the trial is set for October 21. If convicted, Gulsen faces up to three years in jail.