The death of Ms. Çığ created an instant controversy among social media users. After the praiseful comments about her life, some began to criticize her role in experiments on political prisoners! Check out Baransel Ağca and Özlem Akarsu on X.

Here is the translation of Ağca’s X message:

… why we have never liked her: – In 1971, a foundation was established. Its name is the HZI Foundation. Among its founders are Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, who is dead today, and her brother Turan İtil. Turan İtil is a critical person for this foundation. He has been doing academic work on neuropsychiatry in Germany and later in the USA. LSD experiments, mind control experiments, he came to Turkey because of the reaction of the US Food and Drug Administration as well as the public. Anyway, this foundation has been making a name for itself in scientific circles with its work since 1974. They use some drugs that are banned in the US due to their negative effects on human health on human subjects in Turkey. Because the lives of people living in Turkey are not as valuable as those in the US.

– Through the social connections of its employees, the foundation persuaded high school and university students to participate in the experiments in exchange for money. They also made regular presentations to generals in the army, looking for ways to experiment on political prisoners. They use revolutionaries and some nationalists in prison, especially after the coup, in these “experiments”. In some places they are unable to control the prisoners, but in others, with the help of the soldiers, they conduct experiments with a declaration form they force them to sign. The experiments are mostly conducted in the office of the HZI Foundation in Gayrettepe. It is also rumored that in 1983 Ayhan Songar conducted some experiments in Cerrahpaşa. – Four or five years after the coup, suspicion of the HZI Foundation grew. In 1985, Nokta Magazine interviewed 2 young people who were used as test subjects by the foundation. They say they were given a drug in different doses for 8 weeks. They told Nokta Magazine that they received a sum of 3 thousand liras. Their friends who brought them to the foundation gave the following interesting information: “They asked me to bring healthy and irritable young people.”

– The young man’s account is interesting because Turan İtil and Ayhan Songar, who carried out the experiments, believe that communism and fascism are a kind of illness. In Turkey, these two “professors” appear at events such as the “International Symposium on the Rehabilitation of Terrorists in Turkey” to provide a legitimate scientific basis for their work. In fact, Nevzat Tarhan, who worked with Songar, says that Ayhan Songar said, “Right-wingers turned out to be idiots, while left-wingers turned out to be anti-social and psychopathic.” (By the way, Sedat Peker had claimed that Nevzat Tarhan was advising SADAT on psychological warfare. After Tarhan denied this claim, Peker shared a document showing that Tarhan was a shareholder of SADAT.)

– After September 12, the foundation experimented with some political prisoners in prisons such as Mamak, Metris and Erzurum. Some prisoners were taken from prison and brought to the center in Istanbul. The clinic in Istanbul has high-tech equipment that was not available in many health centers at the time. It is also known to everyone that the foundation’s headquarters is in the USA. As such, public opinion slowly began to react. In 1990, Dev-Sol bombed the foundation headquarters in Gayrettepe. In its statement, the organization said that they had raided a CIA-linked center that did not respect human beings and used them as guinea pigs. –

…Conclusion: Now we have a person who, regardless of his title, whether you call him a great Sumerologist, an intellectual, etc., has pioneered experiments that put human health at risk on 5,000 people, 2700 of them prisoners, through the foundation he established. His brother Turan İtil was the main instigator of the experiments, but Muazzez İlmiye Çığ was the president of the foundation when these experiments were carried out and she was not bothered by this situation….

So I asked Perplexity who she was:

Muazzez İlmiye Çığ was a renowned Turkish archaeologist, Sumerologist, Assyriologist, and writer who specialized in the study of Sumerian civilization. Here are some key points about her life and career:

Early Life and Education

Born on June 20, 1914, in Bursa, Turkey, Çığ came from a family of Crimean Tatar immigrants. She completed her primary education in Çorum and later graduated from a teacher training facility in Bursa in 1931[1]. In 1936, she began studying at Ankara University’s Department of Hittitology, where she was taught by prominent scholars Hans Gustav Güterbock and Benno Landsberger[4].

Professional Career

After graduating in 1940, Çığ began working at the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, part of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. She specialized in cuneiform tablets, dedicating decades to deciphering and classifying thousands of untranslated tablets in the museum’s archives[4]. Her work significantly contributed to making the museum a center for Middle Eastern language studies.

Scholarly Contributions

Çığ was known for her diligent and systematic research, publishing numerous books, scholarly papers, and articles. She translated Samuel Noah Kramer’s “History Begins at Sumer” into Turkish, which was published in 1990[1]. Her work on Sumerian civilization and its influence on modern cultures gained international recognition.

Controversy and Advocacy

In 2005, Çığ stirred controversy in the Muslim world with her book claiming that the headscarf worn by Muslim women originated from Sumerian priestesses 5000 years ago, rather than in the Muslim world[4]. She was a strong advocate for secularism and women’s rights in Turkey.

Later Life and Recognition

Çığ was an honorary member of the German Archaeology Institute and Istanbul University Institute of Prehistoric Sciences[4]. She continued her work and advocacy well into her later years, becoming a centenarian and even a supercentenarian, reaching the age of 110 in 2024[1][4].

Muazzez İlmiye Çığ passed away on November 17, 2024, at the age of 110, leaving behind a legacy as one of Turkey’s most prominent archaeologists and a pioneering female scholar in her field[1][2].

Citations:

1. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ – Vikipedi
2. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ kimdir? – NTV
3. Sümerolog Muazzez İlmiye Çığ Hayata Gözlerini Yumdu – Aktüel Arkeoloji
4. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ – Wikipedia (İngilizce)

But the controversy I was looking for was not there. So, I asked a follow-up question:

It appears that Muazzez İlmiye Çığ was involved in a controversial foundation that allegedly conducted experiments on political prisoners in Turkey during the 1980s. Here are the key points regarding her role:

1. Çığ served as the chair of the board for the HZİ Neuropsychiatry Foundation, which became controversial due to allegations of conducting drug experiments on political prisoners[2][3].

2. The HZİ Foundation, named after Hamide Zekeriya İtil (the parents of Prof. Dr. Turan İtil and Muazzez İlmiye Çığ), faced accusations of testing drugs banned in the US on patients and prisoners in Turkey[3].

3. Revolutionary prisoners were allegedly taken to the foundation’s Gayrettepe center in İstanbul against their will and used as test subjects for medications intended for the US market[3].

4. These experiments were compared to the practices of Dr. Mengele in Nazi Germany by some critics, including Evrensel columnist Ertuğrul Ünlütürk[3].

5. Çığ’s brother, Dr. Turan İtil, served as both an administrator and experiment conductor at the foundation[3].

6. In 1985, a parliamentary inquiry was submitted to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, questioning the legality and ethics of these experiments[3].

7. The minister at the time denied the allegations, claiming that the prisoners had voluntarily participated in the experiments[3].

It’s important to note that these allegations are serious and controversial. While Çığ was known for her academic work in Sumerology and archaeology, her involvement with the HZİ Foundation and these alleged experiments on political prisoners appears to be a darker aspect of her legacy that has come to light in recent years.

Citations:

1. Bianet – English
2. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Renowned and Controversial Researcher, Passes Away at 110
3. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Renowned and Controversial Researcher, Dies at 110

Another follow-up question:

It appears that several institutions in Turkey were allegedly involved in conducting experiments on political prisoners and detainees during the 1980s, particularly in the aftermath of the 1980 military coup. Here are some key points:

1. HZİ Neuropsychiatry Foundation: This was the primary organization mentioned in connection with these experiments. The foundation was chaired by Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, and her brother Dr. Turan İtil served as both an administrator and experiment conductor.

– Gülhane Military Medical Academy (GATA): While not directly linked to the experiments on political prisoners, GATA was involved in controversial experiments on conscripts in 2008, which came to light in April of that year.
– The Turkish Armed Forces: There are mentions of experiments being conducted in various prisons, including Mamak, Metris, and Erzurum prisons, which were under military control during that period.

1. University hospitals: A law change allowed university hospitals to conduct drug trials with permission from their own Ethics Committees. This potentially opened the door for more institutions to be involved in such experiments.

It’s important to note that many of these claims are based on allegations and testimonies, and some aspects remain controversial or disputed. The full extent of institutional involvement in these experiments may not be fully known or documented.

Citations:

1. CIA’den SADAT’a: Özel Harp Taktikleri – Gazete Duvar
2. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Renowned and Controversial Researcher, Dies at 110 – Bianet
3. Ceza ve Tevkifevleri Genel Müdürlüğü Tavsiye Kararları (PDF)
4. Erler Kobay Olarak Kullanılıyor – Marksist.net
5. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ’ın 12 Eylül Karnesi – Medyascope

I finally asked about her academic work. A circulating misinformation is that she was a professor. She was not. However, there are still significant contributions:

Muazzez İlmiye Çığ was primarily known for her extensive academic work in Sumerology and archaeology. Here are some of her key contributions and works:

1. Cuneiform tablet research: At the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Çığ specialized in cuneiform tablets, deciphering and classifying thousands of untranslated tablets in the museum’s archives[1][4].

Citations:

1. 108-Year-Old Sumerologist Credits Istanbul Museum for Long Career – Daily Sabah
2. Pioneering Turkish Sumerologist Dies Aged 110 – Hürriyet Daily News
3. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ – Wikipedia
4. Sumerologist Muazzez İlmiye Çığ Passed Away at the Age of 110 – Arkeolojik Haber
5. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Renowned and Controversial Researcher, Dies at 110 – Bianet

Here is the translation of a piece authored by Kaan Göktaş at Serbestiyet:

Muazzez Ilmiye Cig: Bachelor’s degree. Not a Sumerologist, but a Hittologist. Not an academic but a librarian

Was Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, who died at 110, really a world-renowned Sumerologist and historian, as claimed? Çığ was not a “professor” or an “academic”. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, who enrolled at Ankara University, Faculty of Language, History and Geography, Department of Hittitology in 1936, was not a “professor” or an “academic”, but only a 4-year undergraduate graduate. She did not have a master’s degree or a doctorate. She has no scientific publications or articles that have been cited. He is not a “Sumerologist” either, as he has a degree in Hittitology. She worked as a librarian at the Archaeology Museum and Topkapı Palace, where her husband was the director.

After the death of Sumerologist and Writer Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, who passed away yesterday at the age of 110, social media was divided into two as it always is.

While some praised Çığ as a “woman of the Republic, an intellectual”, others criticized her heavily for the guinea pig experiments that took place at the HZI Foundation during the September 12 period.

But was Muazzez İlmiye Çığ really a world-renowned Sumerologist and historian as claimed?

Muazzez İlmiye Çığ is not a “professor” or an “academic”. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, who was born in 1914 and enrolled in the Department of Hittitology at Ankara University’s Faculty of Language, History and Geography in 1936, is not a “professor” or an “academic”, but only a 4-year undergraduate graduate. She does not have a master’s degree or a doctorate.

She has no scientific publications or articles that have been cited.

She is also not a “Sumerologist” as she has a degree in Hittitology.

Muazzez İlmiye Çığ’s teachers included Prof. Dr. Hans Gustav Guterbock and Prof. Dr. Benno Landsberger, who had taken refuge in Turkey from Nazi Germany at the time.

Guterbock is particularly important because the German historian of Jewish origin was involved in the excavations carried out by the German state in the ancient city of Hattusa (Boğazköy) in Çorum. The aim of these excavations by the Germans was one and the same: to prove that the Hittites and Sumerians were Aryans and the ancestors of the Germans. However, due to his Jewish roots, Guterbock was forced to leave Germany and took refuge in Turkey, a country he was not a stranger to.

He started to teach Hittitology at Ankara University and, adapting to the political conjuncture of the period, began to claim that Sumerians and Hittites were the ancestors of the Turks who belonged to a superior race and had a high culture. Muazzez İlmiye Çığ is a student of this school. All her subsequent theses and arguments are based on this main idea.

In one of her most popular works, The Sumerian Origins of the Koran, Bible and Torah, Çığ makes sensational claims.

As the title suggests, the book claims through comparative texts that the mythology, stories, narratives and most of the commandments and prohibitions in the holy books of the three major religions were taken from the mythologies, traditions and beliefs of the peoples who previously lived in the region.

In his books published by Doğu Perinçek and Kaynak Publications of the Aydınlık group, he famously wrote that the headscarf was worn by prostitutes in Sumeria.

He also claims that the cultural and religious ancestors of all modern nations are the Sumerians and that the Sumerians are Turks.

And on what does he base these claims?

Çığ, who mentions, quotes and interprets Sumerian texts and Sumerian tablets in all his books, did not know cuneiform. She could not read the Sumerian texts in their originals, that is, in Sumerian cuneiform. All of Muazzez İlmiye Çığ’s translations, books and the comments she added to them are not from the original cuneiform documents, but from texts transliterated into Latin letters, which is called “transliteration”.

Çığ classified, numbered, archived and indexed ancient tablets written in Sumerian and Hittite languages in the Cuneiform Documents Archive of the Istanbul Museum of Ancient Oriental Art, where her husband Kemal Çığ, who later served as Director of Topkapı Palace for 8 years, also worked, but she never translated any of them.

The world-renowned Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer, author of the bookHistory Begins in Sumer, referred to Muazzez İlmiye Çığ as a “museum clerk” in many places in his book.

Nowhere does he refer to her as a Sumerologist, because Ms. Muazzez’s job was only to arrange the tablets in their places.