Turkmenistan - 土库曼斯坦

Turkmenistan,Is aCentral AsiaThe country, one of the republics of the former Soviet Union, was named Turkmenistan Soviet Socialist Republic during the Soviet era, and became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.

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Islam is the main religion, accounting for 89% of the total population, mainly Sunni believers. Another 9% of the population is Orthodox. However, under the rule of the powerful President Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, the Islamic culture was vigorously promoted, and a small number of Russians who believed in the Orthodox Church gradually moved out of Turkmenistan, resulting in the influence of the Orthodox Church in the country. Fading.

"Book of Souls" (Turkmen: Ruhnama, from Arabic "روح ‎" (rūḥ, meaning "soul") and Persian "نامه‎" (nāmeh, "letter digest" or "book" meaning )) is a book written by Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, the former President for Life of Turkmenistan. The content includes autobiography, spiritual and moral guidance, and history. The text of the book includes many stories and poems, including works by Sufi poet Mahtumkuli.

The book has been translated into 41 languages ​​including Russian, Chinese, English, Turkish, Japanese, Persian, etc. It has also published a phonetic version and a Braille version for the visually impaired. In 2006, more than one million copies of the book were published.

This book is the foundation of Turkmenistan's "National Supreme Spiritual Program" and the country's art and literature. "The Book of Souls" was gradually introduced into Turkmen culture in a comprehensive way. It embodies the soul and spirit of Turkmen people all over the world, and of course it also includes the Turkmen in China-the Salars. Niyazov first placed books in public schools and libraries, but they were eventually included in the textbooks for various examinations such as primary and secondary schools and civil servants. This book is also one of the contents of the driver’s license test. You must take 16 hours of courses related to the book before the driver’s license test.

In March 2006, Niyazov declared on a TV show that Allah told him that any student who has read the book three times can automatically go to heaven.

Niyazov published the first volume of the book in 2001, and declared that the book will "eliminate all shortcomings to elevate the spirit of the Turkmen." In 2004, Niyazov published the second volume of the book, including morality, philosophy and life guidance and other instructions for the present and future generations. The book is an important part of Niyazov's cult of personality and his Turkmenization policy. The Turkmen government ordered bookstores and government agencies to display the book clearly, and churches and mosques must preserve the book like the Bible and the Koran. After some imams believed that the promise would be blasphemy and refused to comply with the request, the Turkmen government reportedly destroyed some mosques.

"The Book of Souls" is the main component of Turkmen's education from elementary school to university. The knowledge in the text content must be able to correctly indicate the number of pages of the quoted sentence. It is a compulsory content for the entrance examination and all government public service examinations, and it is also the content of the qualification examination for a driver's license.

Public criticism or even lack of respect for the text of the book will be considered equivalent to showing disrespect to the former president himself, and will be used to deprive property, imprison or treat the offender or even the offender’s family (if the circumstances are serious). ) Severe punishments such as severe torture. After Niyazov's death, the punishment for disrespect for the book fell into a state of doubt.

There is a huge mechanical replica of the book in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Every night at 8 o'clock, it will open and play the recording of the book page and cooperate with the video projection.

According to a report by the Associated Press reporter Benjamin Harvey in May 2007, a few months after the death of life-long President Niyazov (December 2006), "The Book of Souls" was published by the Turkmen people. The dominance does not seem to weaken. The TV station described the book as a sacred reading. The entrance arch of the largest mosque in Central Asia in Niyazov’s hometown is engraved with the sentence "The Book of Souls" is a sacred book on one side, and "The Quran is the Book of Allah" on the other side. In addition, Harvey described it like this: "The roads of the capital Ashgabat are on both sides of the "Book of Souls" poster slogan, next to the portrait of Niyazov. The sentence quoted from the book is engraved here. On the dreamy decorations of fountains, monuments and official buildings in desert cities.”

Michael Denison of the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom told the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN): "I don’t I think that the "Book of Souls" will be denied. It is more appropriate to say that it is just beginning to be perfunctory." Others hope to change the curriculum, reduce and reform the "Book of Souls" under Niyazov's rule. Curriculum design and return it to complete second or third education.

Whether "The Book of Souls" was really written by Niyazov himself is still an unsolved question. The book currently has translations in 41 languages.

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Although the states divide the vast Turkmenistan into regional tourist areas, remember that the entire Turkmenistan has a geographic area; covering 70% of Turkmenistan’s area isKarakumdesert.

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• Ashgabat - capital

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