Nungali Posted August 29, 2020 (edited) Over the years I have posted threads on the ancient history of Central Asia - this time, something more modern. In converse with people from the area, something interesting has come to light ; much more so than neighbouring countries like Afghanistan , many Central Asian countries have a liberal and secular expression of Islam. A question was asked ; " How did you guys manage to secularize so well in Central Asia. What is the best model to secularize and liberalize in the Islamic world the way you guys have? Honestly want to know what you did differently. Everywhere barring Central Asia and Bosnia/Albania Islamic world is plagued with radicalism. " Answer from Kazakhstan " Take the best from communists. Build schools and universities. Give women equal rights. Separate religion and governmental institutions." " Comrade Women, I understand it is very hard indeed, but you need to put an end the last vestiges of the past once and for all " (great scene at the end ) . Edited August 29, 2020 by Nungali 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) Cool places, great people, food to die for... but atrocious dictators here and there. Here's a glimpse of today's Turkmenistan: Translation: Covid pandemic development statistics for Turkmenistan up to September 5, 2020: Cases, 0. Recovered, 0. Deaths, 0. If you think it might be too good to be true, chances are you are right. Translation: Turkmenistan has banned the coronavirus. If you wear a mask, or talk about the infection, you get arrested. Edited September 6, 2020 by Taomeow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted September 6, 2020 Turkmenistan is now one of the worlds most closed counties ..... under the ruler ship of 'Father Protector ' Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov . Not sure what 'banning a virus' means but 'Father Protector' ordered the public spaces to be fumigated with a traditional plant called “harmala” as a protective measure. Ranked last in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index, Turkmenistan is one of the world’s most closed countries. The government controls all domestic media and continues to step up its persecution of those who clandestinely report for exile media outlets. The few Internet users can only access a highly-censored version of the Internet, usually in cafés where they must first present identification. How about Belarus ; " Lukashenko added that he had "lived through this virus." The strongman leader has notoriously dismissed coronavirus as mass "psychosis" and recommended that citizens enjoy a traditional sauna or drink vodka "to poison the virus." . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted September 6, 2020 21 minutes ago, Nungali said: How about Belarus ; " Lukashenko added that he had "lived through this virus." The strongman leader has notoriously dismissed coronavirus as mass "psychosis" and recommended that citizens enjoy a traditional sauna or drink vodka "to poison the virus." . Belarus is not in Central Asia. And this is one of those "don't even go there" subjects for me. I've generations of family hailing from Belarus, travel memories and many relatives and unmarked graves of repressions victims among them. The guy they honor as their greatest 20th century poet and writer was my dad's best friend and his letters to my dad are now in the memorial museum. I've the language and understanding of history, mentality, culture -- but no chance against the 6 corporations that own worldwide information. And they won't tell any story in a way that allows for an outright lie to be pinpointed, they are not that naive. The recipe asks for a tiny pinch of facts to be added to the mix (with their own spin and some subtle but crucial translation peculiarities thrown in of course). An the morsel that can be spinned into being the most ridiculous, outrageous, discrediting, etc., is the one that will be offered to everyone to savor ad nauseam. Lukashenko's words about banya (not sauna) and vodka with a fatty chaser known as salo and some garlic were not an idiot's medical advice. They were a populist joke of an experienced and shrewd political survivor trying to be cute, to show understanding of a simple person's hope for simple solutions -- while including himself as one of those simple common folk, aiming to endear himself to them, as politicians are wont to do. There's an entirely different real reasoning behind his handling the pandemic the Swedish style. Basically he believes that the remedy everybody else has come up with is worse than the disease. Well... from what I've seen, more than half the planet believe exactly the same thing. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nungali Posted September 7, 2020 4 hours ago, Taomeow said: Belarus is not in Central Asia. No , its just another example of 'leadership ' . 4 hours ago, Taomeow said: And this is one of those "don't even go there" subjects for me. ... Okay . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
