Muazzez Ilmiye Cig (born June 20, 1914 in Bursa) is a Turkish archaeologist who specializes in the study of the Sumerian people. In 2005, she published a book arguing that the headscarf did not originate in the Muslim world but was worn by five thousand years ago by Sumerian priestesses who initiated young men into sex. As a result, she and her publisher were charged with "inciting hatred based on religious differences". June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Bursa (formerly known as Brusa, Greek Prusa, Προύσσα) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of Bursa Province. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... Adherents of Islam are concerned with clothing in two contexts: clothing for everyday, inside and outside the house, and clothing required in specifically religious contexts. ... The Islamic world is the world-wide community of those who identify with Islam, known as Muslims, and who number approximately one-and-a-half billion people. ...

Cig's case went to trial on November 1, 2006. She denied the charges, saying: "I am a woman of science ... I never insulted anyone".^[1] The trial lasted less than an hour and she was acquitted. November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In addition to her archaeological work, Cig is a prominent advocate for secularism in Turkey. Interior of the Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, Turkey, June 1994. ...

References

1. ^ Fraser, S. (2006). "Author, 92, Cleared of Islam Insult" The Standard. Retrieved November 2, 2006.

External links

• Article on controversy
• Turkey court clears archaeologist