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TURKISH SCHOLAR WHO MOCKED HEAD SCARVES IS ACQUITTED
New York Times, NY
Nov 2 2006
ISTANBUL, Nov. 1 - In the latest case challenging freedom of expression
in Turkey, an Istanbul court on Wednesday acquitted a 92-year-old
academic of inciting religious hatred by putting the head scarf
in ancient history in a sexual context and by criticizing abusive
religious marriages.
In one of her published letters, Muazzez Ilmiye Cig, an expert on
Sumerian civilization, asserted that 5,000 years ago, the head scarf
was a symbol to distinguish the temple priestess who had ritual sex
with young men to celebrate fertility. As such, her satirical letter
argued, the wearing of a head scarf should not indicate a woman's
morality or religious devotion in today's world.
This comparison and other satires appeared in her book "My Reactions
as a Citizen" and prompted Yusuf Akin, an Islamic-oriented lawyer
based in Izmir, to file a complaint against Ms. Cig and her publisher,
Ismet Ogutcu.
More than 50 people chanted slogans supporting Ms. Cig and applauded
as she left the courthouse after a hearing of only half an hour. She
and Mr. Ogutcu each faced up to a year and a half in jail if convicted.
So far, most of the cases challenging freedom of expression in Turkey
have concerned references to the mass killings of Armenians in the
1910s, partly because it is illegal to insult the Turkish state or
identity. Intellectuals like the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and the
novelist Elif Shafak have been tried in that regard. Ms. Cig's case,
however, falls under a separate law.
Charges of insulting the Turkish identity brought against Mr. Pamuk
were dropped, and Ms. Shafak was acquitted. But the laws under which
the cases have been brought cause contention within the European Union,
which Turkey wants to join. The recent cases are likely to generate
scorn when the union reports next on Turkey, next Wednesday.
Ms. Cig, a devotee of Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic,
and his secular principles, said her case was not a blot on Turkey's
progress in human rights or freedom of expression. Instead, she said:
"My trial acted as a tool to display the strength of the secular
tradition in Turkey against the fundamentalists. This will encourage
people like me to think more, act more courageously and voice their
opposition more openly."
In Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, head scarves are common in
public life but banned from government offices, including universities,
to protect the secular character of the state. Head scarves were an
electoral issue in 2002 when the current government came to power
with promises to remove the ban. The secular establishment, however,
backed by strong institutions like the military, upholds the ban.
Ms. Cig has also criticized Emine Erdogan, the wife of Turkey's prime
minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for wearing a head scarf that excludes
her from state functions, and asked her to give up her covered looks
to prevent a misrepresentation of modern Turkish women.
New York Times, NY
Nov 2 2006
ISTANBUL, Nov. 1 - In the latest case challenging freedom of expression
in Turkey, an Istanbul court on Wednesday acquitted a 92-year-old
academic of inciting religious hatred by putting the head scarf
in ancient history in a sexual context and by criticizing abusive
religious marriages.
In one of her published letters, Muazzez Ilmiye Cig, an expert on
Sumerian civilization, asserted that 5,000 years ago, the head scarf
was a symbol to distinguish the temple priestess who had ritual sex
with young men to celebrate fertility. As such, her satirical letter
argued, the wearing of a head scarf should not indicate a woman's
morality or religious devotion in today's world.
This comparison and other satires appeared in her book "My Reactions
as a Citizen" and prompted Yusuf Akin, an Islamic-oriented lawyer
based in Izmir, to file a complaint against Ms. Cig and her publisher,
Ismet Ogutcu.
More than 50 people chanted slogans supporting Ms. Cig and applauded
as she left the courthouse after a hearing of only half an hour. She
and Mr. Ogutcu each faced up to a year and a half in jail if convicted.
So far, most of the cases challenging freedom of expression in Turkey
have concerned references to the mass killings of Armenians in the
1910s, partly because it is illegal to insult the Turkish state or
identity. Intellectuals like the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and the
novelist Elif Shafak have been tried in that regard. Ms. Cig's case,
however, falls under a separate law.
Charges of insulting the Turkish identity brought against Mr. Pamuk
were dropped, and Ms. Shafak was acquitted. But the laws under which
the cases have been brought cause contention within the European Union,
which Turkey wants to join. The recent cases are likely to generate
scorn when the union reports next on Turkey, next Wednesday.
Ms. Cig, a devotee of Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic,
and his secular principles, said her case was not a blot on Turkey's
progress in human rights or freedom of expression. Instead, she said:
"My trial acted as a tool to display the strength of the secular
tradition in Turkey against the fundamentalists. This will encourage
people like me to think more, act more courageously and voice their
opposition more openly."
In Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, head scarves are common in
public life but banned from government offices, including universities,
to protect the secular character of the state. Head scarves were an
electoral issue in 2002 when the current government came to power
with promises to remove the ban. The secular establishment, however,
backed by strong institutions like the military, upholds the ban.
Ms. Cig has also criticized Emine Erdogan, the wife of Turkey's prime
minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for wearing a head scarf that excludes
her from state functions, and asked her to give up her covered looks
to prevent a misrepresentation of modern Turkish women.