title: Religion in Turkey

text: According to a poll made by MAK in 2017, 86% of the Turkish population declared they believe in God. 76% declared they believe Quran and other holy books came through revelation by God. According to another poll made in 2019 by OPTİMAR, which interviewed 3,500 people across 26 cities that 89.5% of those who were interviewed declared they believe in God while 4.5 said they believe in a God but do not believe in a religion. Since there is a great stigma attached to being an atheist in Turkey, many Turkish atheists communicate with each other via the Internet.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Another poll conducted by Gezici Araştırma in 2020 found that across 12 provinces and 18 districts in Turkey with the sample size of 1,062 people stated that 28.5% of Gen Z in Turkey identified with no religion.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Turkey has a secular constitution, with no official state religion. Over the course of the 20th century, it developed a strong tradition of secularism similar to the French model of laïcité, with the main distinction being that the Turkish state "openly and publicly controls Islam through its State Directorate of Religious Affairs". The constitution recognizes the freedom of religion for individuals, whereas the religious communities are placed under the protection and jurisdiction of the state and cannot become involved in the political process (e.g. by forming a religious party) or establish faith-based schools. No political party can claim that it represents a form of religious belief; nevertheless, religious sensibilities are generally represented through conservative parties. For decades, the wearing of religious headcover and similar theopolitical symbolic garments was prohibited in universities and other public contexts such as military or police service. As a specific incarnation of an otherwise abstract principle, it accrued symbolic importance among both proponents and opponents of secularism and became the subject of various legal challenges before being dismantled in a series of legislative acts from 2010 to 2017.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Separation between mosque and state was established in Turkey soon after its founding in 1923, with an amendment to the Turkish constitution that mandated that Turkey had no official state religion and that the government and the state were to be free of religious influence. The modernizing reforms undertaken by President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the 1920s and 1930s further established secularism in Turkey.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Despite its official secularism, the Turkish government includes the state agency of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (), whose purpose is stated by law "to execute the works concerning the beliefs, worship, and ethics of Islam, enlighten the public about their religion, and administer the sacred worshiping places". The institution, commonly known simply as "Diyanet", operates 77,500 mosques, builds new ones, pays the salaries of imams, and approves all sermons given in mosques in Turkey. The Presidency of Religious Affairs finances only Sunni Muslim worship in Turkey. For example, Alevi, Câferî (mostly Azeris), and Bektashi Muslims (mostly Turkmen) participate in the financing of the mosques and the salaries of Sunni imams by paying taxes to the state, while their places of worship, which are not officially recognized, do not receive any state funding. The Presidency of Religious Affairs' budget rose from US$0.9 billion for the year 2006 to $2.5 billion in 2012.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Beginning in the 1980s, the role of religion in the state has been a divisive issue, as influential religious factions challenged the complete secularization called for by Kemalism and the observance of Islamic practices experienced a substantial revival. In the early 2000s (decade), Islamic groups challenged the concept of a secular state with increasing vigor after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) came into power in 2002.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Turkey, through the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), recognizes the civil, political, and cultural rights of non-Muslim minorities. In practice, Turkey only recognizes Greek, Armenian, and Jewish religious minorities. Alevi, Bektashi, and Câferî Muslims among other Muslim sects, as well as Latin Catholics and Protestants, are not recognized officially. In 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had discriminated against the religious freedom of Alevis.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: With more than 100,000 employees, the Presidency of Religious Affairs has been described as state within the state. Its budget is compared with the budgets of other state departments as such:


title: Religion in Turkey

text: The mainstream Hanafite school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through the Presidency of Religious Affairs (), which controls all mosques and pays the salaries of all Muslim clerics. The directorate is criticized by some Alevi Muslims for not supporting their beliefs and instead favouring only the Sunni faith.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople ("Patrik") is the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey, and also serves as the spiritual leader of all Orthodox churches throughout the world. The Armenian Patriarch is the head of the Armenian Church in Turkey, while the Jewish community is led by the "Hahambasi", Turkey's Chief Rabbi, based in Istanbul. These groups have also criticized the Presidency of Religious Affairs for only financially supporting Islam in Turkey.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Antioch (modern Antakya), the city where "the disciples were first called Christians" according to the biblical Book of Acts, is located in modern Turkey, as are most of the areas visited by St. Paul during his missions. The Epistle to the Galatians, Epistle to the Ephesians, Epistle to the Colossians, First Epistle of Peter, and Book of Revelation are addressed to recipients in the territory of modern Turkey.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Additionally, all of the first Seven Ecumenical Councils that define Christianity for Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christians took place in the territory that is now Turkey. Many titular sees exist in Turkey, as Anatolia was historically home to a large Christian population for centuries.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and Turkey is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Turkey has a democratic government and a strong tradition of secularism. Nevertheless, the Turkish state's interpretation of secularism has reportedly resulted in religious freedom violations for some of its non-Muslim citizens. The 2009 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report placed Turkey on its watchlist with countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, the Russian Federation, and Venezuela. Nevertheless, according to this report, the situation for Jews in Turkey is better than in other majority Muslim countries. Jews report being able to worship freely and their places of worship having the protection of the government when required. Jews also operate their own schools, hospitals, two elderly homes, welfare institutions, as well as a newspaper. Despite this, concerns have arisen in recent years because of attacks by extremists on synagogues in 2003, as well as growing anti-Semitism in some sectors of the Turkish media and society.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Catholic Christians have also occasionally been subjected to violent societal attacks. In February 2006, an Italian Catholic priest was shot to death in his church in Trabzon, reportedly by a youth angered over the caricatures of Muhammad in Danish newspapers. The government strongly condemned the killing. A 16-year-old boy was subsequently charged with the murder and sentenced to 19 years in prison. In December 2007, a 19-year-old stabbed a Catholic priest outside a church in İzmir; the priest was treated and released the following day. According to newspaper reports, the assailant, who was arrested soon afterward, admitted that he had been influenced by a recent television program that depicted Christian missionaries as "infiltrators" who took advantage of poor people.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: The Armenian Patriarch, head of the Armenian Orthodox Church, also lacks the status of legal personality (unlike the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who has a government-recognized role), and there is no seminary in Turkey to educate its clerics since the closure of the last remaining seminar by the state, as only 65,000 Armenian Orthodox people live in Turkey. In 2006, the Armenian Patriarch submitted a proposal to the Minister of Education to enable his community to establish a faculty in the Armenian language at a state university with instruction by the Patriarch. Under current restrictions, only the Sunni Muslim community can legally operate institutions to train new clergy in Turkey for future leadership.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Patriarch Bartholomew I, most senior bishop among equals in the traditional hierarchy of Orthodox Christianity, said that he felt "crucified" living in Turkey under a government that did not recognize the ecumenical status of Patriarch and which would like to see his Patriarchate die out. The AKP government under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized Bartholomew I, with deputy prime minister Arınç saying that the Eastern Orthodox Church enjoyed their religious rights during the AKP's rule, and foreign minister Davutoğlu saying that he hoped that the Patriarch's remarks had been a "slip of the tongue". In response to the government's criticism, Bartholomew's lawyer said when the patriarchate was criticizing government, he was referring to the state, not the AKP government in particular. Prime Minister Erdoğan said that "When it comes to the question, 'Are you recognizing [him] as ecumenical?', I wouldn't be annoyed by it [this title]. Since it did not annoy my ancestors, it will not annoy me, either. But it may annoy some [people] in my country." The Greek Orthodox orphanage in Büyükada was closed by the government; however, following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, the deed to the orphanage was returned to the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 29 November 2010.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: In a poll conducted by Sabancı University in 2006, 98.3% of Turks revealed they were Muslim. Of that, 19% said they were ""extremely religious"", 45% said they were ""somewhat religious"", and 33% said they were ""not very religious"" and 3% had ""no religious beliefs"". 3% of Turks declare themselves with no religious beliefs.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: According to Pew in 2020, 89% of Turks say religion plays an important role in their life (71% very important, 18% somewhat important), and 8% say religion doesn't play an important role in their life (3% not at all important, 5% not too important), 75% of Turks also say it is necessary to believe in God to be moral, compare to 84% in 2002.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: The rise of Islamic religiosity in Turkey in the last two decades has been discussed for the past several years. Many see Turkish society moving towards a more hardline Islamic identity and country, citing increasing religious criticisms against what is considered immoral behaviour and government policies seen as enforcing conservative Islamic morality, as well as the controversial blasphemy conviction of the pianist Fazıl Say for "insulting Islam" by retweeting a joke about the Islamic Friday prayer. "The New York Times" published a report about Turkey in 2012, noting an increased polarization between secular and religious groups in Turkish society and politics. Critics argue that Turkish public institutions, once staunchly secular, are shifting in favour of Islamists.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: The government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) pursue the explicit policy agenda of Islamization of education to "raise a devout generation" against secular resistance, in the process causing lost jobs and school for many non-religious citizens of Turkey.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: In 2013, several books that were previously recommended for classroom use were found to be rewritten to include more Islamic themes, without the Ministry of Education's consent. Traditional stories of Pinocchio, Heidi, and Tom Sawyer were rewritten to include characters that wished each other a "God-blessed morning" and statements that included "in Allah's name"; in one rewrite, one of the Three Musketeers converted to Islam.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: For most of the 20th century, Turkish law prohibited the wearing of headscarves and similar garments of religious symbolism in public governmental institutions. The law became a Wedge issue in the public discourse, culminating in an early effort to see the law overturned by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights failing in 2005 when the court deemed it legitimate in "Leyla Şahin v. Turkey."


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Subsequently, the issue formed a core of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's first campaign for the presidency in 2007, arguing that it was an issue of human rights and freedoms Following his victory, the ban was eliminated in a series of legislative acts starting with an amendment to the constitution in 2008 allowing women to wear headscarves in Turkish universities while upholding the prohibition of symbols of other religions in that context. Further changes saw the ban eliminated in some government buildings including parliament the next year, followed by the police forces and, finally, the military in 2017.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: In 2013, the parliament of Turkey passed legislation that bans all forms of advertising for alcoholic beverages and tightened restrictions on alcohol sales. This also includes the censoring of images on television, usually implemented by blurring, historically implemented by CNBC-e as flower placement. The law was sponsored by the ruling AKP.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: In early July 2020, the Council of State annulled the Cabinet's 1934 decision to establish the museum, revoking the monument's status, and a subsequent decree by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered the reclassification of Hagia Sophia as a mosque. The 1934 decree was ruled to be unlawful under both Ottoman and Turkish law as Hagia Sophia's "waqf", endowed by Sultan Mehmed, had designated the site a mosque; proponents of the decision argued the Hagia Sophia was the personal property of the sultan. This redesignation is controversial, invoking condemnation from the Turkish opposition, UNESCO, the World Council of Churches, the International Association of Byzantine Studies, and many international leaders.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: During his speech announcing the conversion of the monument, Erdoğan highlighted how the conversion would gratify the "spirit of conquest" of Mehmet II, and during the first sermon on 24 July 2020, Ali Erbaş, head of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs, held a sword in his hand, symbolizing a tradition of conquest. This was perceived as a branding of the non-Muslim population of Turkey, especially the Greek Orthodox as "re-conquered subjects and second-class citizens".


title: Religion in Turkey

text: In August 2020, just a month after the Hagia Sophia, the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered another ancient Orthodox Church, the 1,000 year old Church of St. Saviour in Chora to be converted into a mosque. Similar to the Hagia Sophia, it had earlier been converted from a Church to a Mosque in 1453, and then into a museum known as the Kariye Museum after the Second World War.


title: Religion in Turkey

text: Many also see interest and support of secularism in Turkey as increasing, not decreasing. After Erdogan made a statement in January 2012 about his desire to "raise a religious youth," politicians of all parties condemned his statements as abandoning Turkish values. A petition reading "[O]f Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Alawite, Shafi’i, religious and non-religious, atheist and agnostic backgrounds, all joined with a firm belief in secularism, [we] find your recent remarks about raising a religious and conservative youth most alarming and dangerous" was signed by over 2,000 people. The pro-government newspaper "Bugün" ran a story stating "no one has the right to convert this society into a religious one, or the opposite." Surveys of the Turkish people also show a great support for maintaining secular lifestyles. The Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation found that only 9% of Turks supported a religious state in 2006. A more recent 2015 poll by Metropoll found that over 80% of Turkish people supported the continuation of Turkey as a secular state, with even the majority of AKP voters supporting a secular state too. Furthermore, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center Report, only 13% of all Turks believe laws should "strictly follow the teachings of the Qur'an."


title: Religion in Turkey

text: An early April 2018 report of the Turkish Ministry of Education, titled "The Youth is Sliding to Deism", observed that an increasing number of pupils in İmam Hatip schools was abandoning Islam in favour of deism. The report's publication generated large-scale controversy amongst conservative Muslim groups in Turkish society. Progressive Islamic theologian noted the deist trend a year earlier, arguing that the "very archaic, dogmatic notion of religion" held by the majority of those claiming to represent Islam was causing "the new generations [to get] indifferent, even distant, to the Islamic worldview." Despite lacking reliable statistical data, numerous anecdotes appear to point in this direction. Although some commentators claim the secularisation is merely a result of Western influence or even a "conspiracy", most commentators, even some pro-government ones, have come to conclude that "the real reason for the loss of faith in Islam is not the West but Turkey itself: It is a reaction to all the corruption, arrogance, narrow-mindedness, bigotry, cruelty and crudeness displayed in the name of Islam." Especially when the AKP Islamists are in power to enforce Islam upon society, this is making citizens turn their back on it.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Fotballklubben Bodø/Glimt () is a Norwegian professional football club from the town of Bodø that currently plays in Eliteserien, the Norwegian top division. The club was founded in 1916 and is frequently referred to by its original club name, ""Glimt"".


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Bodø/Glimt are the reigning champions in Norway after winning 2021 Eliteserien. They also have won the now defunct Northern Norwegian Cup nine times, Norwegian Cup twice, the Norwegian top division twice, in 2020 and in 2021, and finished second in 1977, 1993, 2003, and 2019. They were the first team from northern Norway to win a national title by winning the cup in 1975, and also the first team from the region to win the national league.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Glimt is known for the yellow kits and the huge yellow toothbrushes that the supporters carry to the matches — a supporter symbol from the 1970s. After being promoted to the top flight ahead of the 2018 season, the club has experienced the greatest success in its history, winning the league twice in a row, reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa Conference League and the Play-off round of the Champions League before dropping into the Europa League in the following season.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: While other towns in Nordland county like Narvik, Mo i Rana and Mosjøen had started their football clubs earlier, the larger town of Bodø was without a major football club until the latter part of 1916. The new club was founded as Fotballklubben Glimt ("Glimt" meaning "Flash" in English). One of the founders was Erling Tjærandsen, who also became the club's first president and later an honorary club member. Tjærandsen was also a known footballer and skier. Glimt's first match was against Bodø Highschool, because Glimt was the only football club in town.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: In 1919 Glimt won their first title: County Champions of Nordland. In the 1920s, Glimt suffered from bad morale and poor finances. At one point, there were talks about merging Glimt into the Ski Club B. & O.I, but following discussions, the intentions were not carried through. The club received an infusion of new encouragement through visiting footballing stars and coaches from southern Norway such as Jørgen Juve in 1929. In the 1930s Glimt also began training indoors to reduce the impact of the severe arctic winters.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: This new approach in the late 1920s and early 1930s yielded some positive results and Glimt have since been a top club in Northern Norway, winning nine North-Norwegian championships, and nationally in Norway since the 1970s.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: The club changed its name in 1948, due to an older club from Trøndelag having the same name, and has since gone by the name Fotballklubben Bodø/Glimt. The slash was originally a hyphen, but was gradually changed in the 1980s to avoid confusion as hyphens were often used to separate teams on betting coupons and in result tables in newspapers.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Teams from Northern Norway were not allowed to compete in the Norwegian cup-competition until 1963. In their first appearance in the Norwegian FA cup in 1963, Bodø/Glimt managed to get as far as the fourth round after a home win 7–1 over Nordil, and two away wins. The first beating Nidelv (from Trondheim) and then a mighty win over Rosenborg. In the fourth round, Glimt had to play another away game, this time against Frigg from Oslo. Frigg won 2–0 and Glimt was out of the Cup. However, Bodø/Glimt had proven that teams from Northern Norway could play at the same level as the southern teams.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: It was not until 1972 that northern teams had the right to gain promotion to the Norwegian top division. This was due to the old belief that the teams from Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark could not compete at the same level as the southern teams. Bodø/Glimt is one of three teams from Northern Norway that have played in the Norwegian top division, the others being Tromsø and Mjølner.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: From 1973 Norway had three second divisions: two divisions for southern teams and one for northern teams. Bodø/Glimt took three years to gain promotion, due to the promotion rules. The first place holders in the two southern divisions gained instant promotion, but the first place holder in the northern second division had to compete in play-off matches against the two second-place holders from the south. This league system caused a lot of bitterness in the north. This worsened in 1975 when Bodø/Glimt, as the first club from Northern-Norway, won the Norwegian Cup, but did not gain promotion due to the special play-off rules for North-Norwegian clubs.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: In the 1974 and 1975 season, Bodø/Glimt won their division (they had played a few draws but no losses), but still lost in the play-offs.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: In 1976, Bodø/Glimt managed at last to beat the league-system with a 4–0 win over Odd and a 1–1 draw against Lyn, making Glimt the second North-Norwegian team to gain promotion to the top division, after FK Mjølner's promotion in 1971. Not until the late 1970s did the Norwegian Football Association changed the promotion rules; the play-off matches for Northern clubs were dropped. From then on there was no difference where a club had its home-ground.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: After a glorious top-division debut in 1977 — second place in the league and the cup, both against Lillestrøm — Bodø/Glimt played four seasons at the top level before relegation in 1980, finishing last at 12th place.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: The 1980s were the darkest hours in the club history, with Bodø/Glimt playing in the 2nd division and the regional 3rd division. For a couple of years in the mid-1980s, they weren't even the best team in Bodø, with rivals Grand Bodø surpassing them in the standings. But the tide turned in 1991. With coach Jan Muri in charge, Glimt was promoted to 1st division. The following season they hired Trond Sollied as coach, and the team won the 1st division in the 1992 season. At last, in 1993, Bodø/Glimt was back in the top-division, and as in the debut season of 1977 they took second place in the league. This time they also managed to win the cup final (a 2–0 win over Strømsgodset). The Cup-Championship was the crowning of three remarkable seasons, going from 2nd division to 2nd place in the top-division in only three years — an achievement rarely seen in the Norwegian league system.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Since reentering the top division Bodø/Glimt have had a rather checkered performance-chart. A good league performance one season has usually been followed with near relegation the next. This was illustrated with the 1993 and 1994 seasons when Glimt won the cup and became league runners-up, in 1994 only a better goal-difference allowed Bodø/Glimt to stay in the top division.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Another example of the rollercoaster ride of Bodø/Glimt league performance is the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In 2003 season the club finished runner-up behind league valedictorians Rosenborg. The team also lost the 2003 Norwegian Cup Final to Rosenborg. In the 2004 season Glimt finished third last and had to play a two-game qualification match against Kongsvinger to avoid relegation. Glimt lost the first game 0–1 in Kongsvinger, but soundly defeated Kongsvinger in Bodø by the score of 4–0, winning 4–1 on aggregate.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: After the club's comeback in 1993, Glimt played continuously in the Norwegian top division for 12 seasons, for a total of 16 top division seasons. In the 2005 season however, Bodø/Glimt was relegated.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Life in the Adecco League proved harder than most fans had anticipated. Many were disappointed when Glimt failed to secure the third place play-off spot they had held during most of the course of the season, finally ending in fifth place. The season was tainted by financial difficulties, forcing the team to sell their top scorer Håvard Sakariassen and captain Cato Andrè Hansen to promotion rivals Bryne in the middle of the season. This had to be done to stabilize their financial situation, which was so poor that the Norwegian Football Association threatened to not give the team their playing license for next season, which would have resulted disastrously in forced relegation to the second division.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: The poor results towards the end of the season finally prompted the board of the supporters’ club to write an open letter in which the training and alcohol consumption habits of certain unnamed players were criticised. In a bizarre twist a few weeks later, the supporters’ club was threatened with a lawsuit in the multi-million class by former coach Trond Sollied, who was briefly mentioned in a by-sentence of the letter as having been in charge when the bad habits of the team had begun. All claims were quickly retracted by the supporters’ club.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: In the second season in Adeccoligaen, Bodø/Glimt achieved promotion back to Tippeligaen after two promotion matches – once again, as in 1976 – against Odd. Bodø/Glimt was the first team for nine years in Norway to win the promotion matches to Tippeligaen. This was also the final match for Bodø/Glimt for the Norwegian legends Erik Hoftun and Kent Bergersen. The return to Tippeligaen was a successful one as the team performed well to end in 4th place in 2008, but the next season followed the club trend of struggling after a good season, and Bodø/Glimt was again relegated with a 15th place, second to last in the league.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: In 2013, Bodø/Glimt was again promoted to Tippeligaen, after becoming the winner of Adecco-ligaen. Coach Jan Halvor Halvorsen managed to keep Glimt in the top lead for the next two seasons.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Ahead of the 2016 season, club legend Aasmund Bjørkan was appointed as head coach. The team started the season well, and was on top of the league table after three games. However, Glimt lost the next six games. The place in the top league nevertheless looked secure with four games remaining, but Glimt lost all of them and was relegated. Despite relegation, Aasmund Bjørkan stayed on as head coach, and the club brought in then unknown Kjetil Knutsen as assistant coach. Bodø/Glimt won the league by a 16-point margin, and was once again back at the top flight. Aasmund Bjørkan was named coach of the year, but stepped down as head coach, and took the role as sporting director at the club ahead of the 2018 season. Assistant Kjetil Knutsen was promoted to head coach. Glimt made a decent performance during 2018, however a record of 14 draws saw them finishing only in 11th place, but retaining their status as a top-flight team.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Ahead of the 2019 season, Glimt was mentioned among the relegation candidates by most pundits, especially since the club had sold key players like captain Martin Bjørnbak and top scorer Kristian Fardal Opseth. Glimt surprised everyone, and clinched a 2nd place in the Norwegian Eliteserien. Kjetil Knutsen was named coach of the year, and Håkon Evjen was named both player of the year and young player of the year. Ahead of the 2020 season, Glimt again sold several key players, among them captain Ricardo Friedrich and Håkon Evjen, and was not considered among the title candidates. However, Glimt performed a record breaking season, winning 26 games and scoring 103 goals in 30 matches. Bodø/Glimt won the Eliteserien for the first time in history, also becoming the first team from Northern Norway to win the Eliteserien. Again Kjetil Knutsen was named coach of the year. Philip Zinckernagel was named player of the year, having contributed 19 goals and 18 assists. Ahead of the 2021 season, Bodø/Glimt had sold their three front men Philip Zinckernagel, Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Junker. These three players scored all together 60 goals and provided 35 assists in the 2020 season, and Glimt had not brought in clear replacements for these players. Pundits were again skeptical to Glimts title chances, but again Glimt surprised everyone, and were crowned back-to-back league champions after a 3–0 victory at Mjøndalen in the last match of the season.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: As a result of the 2019 league finish, Glimt qualified for the UEFA Europa League. Following two wins against Lithuanian teams, Glimt faced AC Milan at San Siro in the third qualifying round, narrowly losing 2-3. In the 2021-22 European season, the results drastically improved. After losing the first Champions league qualifying round tie against Legia Warszawa, Glimt qualified for the Europa Conference League group stage (in the process defeating Zalgiris from Vilnius for the second time in two years).


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Having been drawn into group C, Glimt first defeated Zorya Luhansk, and then drew CSKA Sofia 0-0 away. Glimt then defeated group-winner favourite A.S. Roma 6-1 at home at Aspmyra. This was Roma's biggest defeat in European competitions since losing 1-6 to Barcelona in the 2015-16 Champions league group stage, and their biggest loss in any non-Champions League tournament. The away game two weeks later at Stadio Olimpico finished 2-2. After winning their home game against CSKA Sofia and drawing their away game against Zorya, Glimt finished in second place in the group stage without a single loss (and one point behind Roma). In the subsequent knockout phase, Glimt first defeated Celtic F.C. both home and away in the play-offs, and then AZ on aggregate in the round of 16. The aggregate win against AZ was sealed by an extra time goal from Alfons Sampsted away at Alkmaar. Glimt then proceeded to draw Roma as their opponent once again for the quarter-finals. The first quarter-final at Aspmyra again resulted in a Glimt win, this time 2-1. Notably, of the eleven starting players from the group stage win, only four were present in the starting line-up for the home quarter-final.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: 1971 was the first year northern Norwegian teams could win promotion for the top division (First possible year in the top division would have been 1972). Until 1978, the winner of the northern Norwegian group of the second tier had to enter promotion playoffs against the second placed teams of the two southern Norwegian second tier groups. 1979 was thus the first year northern Norwegian teams competed on equal terms as the southern Norwegian teams.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Bodø/Glimt have participated in European Cups a number of times. The first time was in 1976, when they lost against Napoli in the Cup Winners' Cup. In 1978, they lost to Inter Milan, and in 1994 to Sampdoria in the same competition.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: In 2004, they lost to Beşiktaş in the first round of the UEFA Cup and in 2020 to A.C. Milan in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Due to a shortened season during the COVID-19 pandemic, the double against Milan was played as a single match at San Siro, with no return leg. Glimt was narrowly defeated then by a score of 3–2.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: In 2021, they made their debut UEFA Champions League appearance, facing Legia Warsaw from Poland's Ekstraklasa in the first qualifying round. After being eliminated in the first round, the club managed to make their debut in the group stage of UEFA Europa Conference League, where they recorded surprisingly positive results, winning over A.S. Roma 8–3 on aggregate and reaching past this stage to eventually defeat Celtic F.C. and gain a place in the Round of 16 in 2022. The club managed to reach the quarter-finals of UEFA Europa Conference League then, eventually losing to future champions AS Roma, while initially managing to win over them in the first match of the double.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: The club is known to play in yellow kits. However, it wasn't until the mid 70s that FK Bodø/Glimt changed their white shorts to an all yellow strip. In 1980 the club signed its first kit-manufacturer deal with the German firm Adidas, though the club used track jackets and shorts from Adidas since 1976. Nordlandsbanken, a major bank in the region, was one of the main sponsor of the club, present on their shirts until 2011. Since the 2007 season, Diadora has been manufacturing the kits.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Glimt supporters are known as "1916", "Den Gule Horde" (The Yellow Horde), "Glimt i Sør" (Glimt in the South) and "Glimt i Steigen" (Glimt in Steigen). 1916 and Den Gule Horde have merged to form the new supporter group "J-feltet", named from the area of the stadion where the singing supporters are located. Glimt i Sør is a supporter group based in Oslo, the capital of Norway, and has members from across southern Norway. There is also a smaller group called "Glimt i Midten" (Glimt in the Middle) located in and around Trondheim. The Steigen branch is a small group of supporters which are known for their online support, especially on Twitter.


title: FK Bodø/Glimt

text: Glimt supporters were among the first to introduce the tradition of singing supporters dressed in club colours to Norwegian stands in the 1970s. The supporters are well known across Norway for bringing a giant toothbrush to their games, a tradition that started after supporter leaders used toothbrushes to conduct the singing, as someone often had a toothbrush in their pockets from traveling to the match. A representative for Jordan, Norway's biggest dental company, spotted this at a match and offered the supporters a sponsor deal. For many years visiting teams have received a yellow toothbrush (of normal size) from Bodø/Glimt's team captain ahead of matches.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a clouded leopard was brought to London from China and described in 1821. It has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes reminiscent of clouds. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a long tail. It uses its tail for balancing when moving in trees and is able to climb down vertical tree trunks head first. It rests in trees during the day and hunts by night on the forest floor.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard is the first cat that genetically diverged 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago from the common ancestor of the pantherine cats. Today, the clouded leopard is locally extinct in Singapore, Taiwan, and possibly Hainan Island and Vietnam. Its total population is suspected to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, with a decreasing population trend, and no single population numbering more than 1,000 adults. It has therefore been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2008. The population is threatened by large–scale deforestation and commercial poaching for the wildlife trade. Its body parts are offered for decoration and clothing, though it is legally protected in most range countries.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard has been kept in zoological gardens since the early 20th century. Captive breeding programs were initiated in the 1980s. In captivity, the clouded leopard has an average lifespan of 11 years.


title: Clouded leopard

text: "Felis nebulosa" was proposed by Edward Griffith in 1821 who first described a skin of a clouded leopard that was brought alive from Canton Province in China to the menagerie at Exeter Exchange in London.


title: Clouded leopard

text: "Felis macrosceloides" proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1841 was a clouded leopard specimen from Nepal.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The generic name "Neofelis" was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1867 who subordinated all three to this genus.


title: Clouded leopard

text: At present, "N. nebulosa" is considered a monotypic species due to lack of evidence for subspeciation.


title: Clouded leopard

text: It was considered a clouded leopard subspecies by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1917. In 2006, it was identified as a distinct "Neofelis" species, the Sunda clouded leopard. Populations in Taiwan and Hainan Island are considered to belong to the mainland clouded leopard.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Skulls of clouded leopard and "Panthera" species were analysed morphologically in the 1960s. Results indicate that the clouded leopard forms an evolutionary link between the Pantherinae and the Felinae.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear DNA in tissue samples from all Felidae species revealed that the evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in the Miocene around in Asia. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at .


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard is estimated to have been the first cat that genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae , based on analysis of their nuclear DNA.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard from mainland Asia reached Borneo and Sumatra via a now submerged land bridge probably during the Pleistocene, when populations became isolated during periods of global cooling and warming. Genetic analysis of hair samples of the clouded leopard and its sister species the Sunda clouded leopard ("N. diardi") indicates that they diverged 2.0–0.93 million years ago.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard's fur is of a dark grey or ochreous ground-color, often largely obliterated by black and dark dusky-grey blotched pattern. There are black spots on the head, and the ears are black. Partly fused or broken-up stripes run from the corner of the eyes over the cheek, from the corner of the mouth to the neck, and along the nape to the shoulders. Elongated blotches continue down the spine and form a single median stripe on the loins. Two large blotches of dark dusky-grey hair on the side of the shoulders are each emphasized posteriorly by a dark stripe, which passes on to the foreleg and breaks up into irregular spots. The flanks are marked by dark dusky-grey irregular blotches bordered behind by long, oblique, irregularly curved or looped stripes. These blotches yielding the clouded pattern suggest the English name of the cat. The underparts and legs are spotted, and the tail is marked by large, irregular, paired spots. Its legs are short and stout, and paws broad. Females are slightly smaller than males.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Its hyoid bone is ossified, making it possible to purr. Its pupils contract into vertical slits. Irises are brownish yellow to grayish green. Melanistic clouded leopards are uncommon. It has rather short limbs compared to the other big cats. Its hind limbs are longer than its front limbs to allow for increased jumping and leaping capabilities. Its ulnae and radii are not fused, which also contributes to a greater range of motion when climbing trees and stalking prey. Clouded leopards weigh between . Females vary in head-to-body length from , with a tail long. Males are larger at with a tail long.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Its skull is long and low with strong occipital and sagittal crests. The canine teeth are exceptionally long, the upper being about three times as long as the basal width of the socket. The first premolar is usually absent. The upper pair of canines measure or longer.


title: Clouded leopard

text: It has a bite force at the canine tip of 544.3 Newton and a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 122.4.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard is often referred to as a "modern-day sabre-tooth" because it has the largest canines in proportion to its body size.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard occurs from the Himalayan foothills in Nepal, Bhutan and India to Myanmar, southeastern Bangladesh, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, to south of the Yangtze River in China. It is regionally extinct in Singapore and Taiwan.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In Nepal, the clouded leopard was thought to be extinct since the late 1860s. But in 1987 and 1988, four individuals were found in the central part of the country, close to Chitwan National Park and in Pokhara Valley. These findings extended the known range westward, suggesting it is able to survive and breed in degraded woodlands that previously harboured moist subtropical semideciduous forest. Since then, the clouded leopard has been recorded in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park and in Annapurna Conservation Area. Between 2014 and 2015, it was also recorded in Langtang National Park at an elevation range of .


title: Clouded leopard

text: In India, it occurs in Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Meghalaya subtropical forests, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. In Pakke Tiger Reserve, a clouded leopard was photographed in semi-evergreen forest at an elevation of . In Sikkim, clouded leopards were photographed by camera traps at elevations of between April 2008 and May 2010 in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve. In Manas National Park, 16 individuals were recorded during a survey in November 2010 to February 2011. Between January 2013 and March 2018, clouded leopards were also recorded in Dampa Tiger Reserve, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary and Singchung-Bugun Village Community Reserve, in Meghalaya's Nongkhyllem National Park and Balpakram-Baghmara landscape.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In Bhutan, it was recorded in Royal Manas National Park, Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, Jigme Dorji National Park, Phrumsengla National Park, Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary and several non-protected areas. In Bangladesh, it was recorded in Sangu Matamuhari in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in 2016. In Myanmar, it was recorded by camera traps for the first time in the hill forests of Karen State in 2015.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In Thailand, it inhabits relatively open, dry tropical forest in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary and closed-forest habitats in Khao Yai National Park. In Laos, it was recorded in Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area in dry evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. In Cambodia, it was recorded in deciduous dipterocarp forest in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary between 2008 and 2009, and in Central Cardamom Mountains National Park, Southern Cardamom National Park, Botum Sakor National Park and Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary between 2012 and 2016. In Peninsular Malaysia, it was recorded in Taman Negara National Park, Ulu Muda Forest, Pasoh Forest Reserve, Royal Belum State Park, Temengor Forest Reserve and in a few linkages between 2009 and 2015.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The last confirmed record of a Formosan clouded leopard dates to 1989, when the skin of a young individual was found in the Taroko area. It was not recorded during an extensive camera trapping survey conducted from 1997 to 2012 in more than 1,450 sites inside and outside Taiwanese protected areas.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard is a solitary cat. Early accounts depict it as a rare, secretive, arboreal, and nocturnal inhabitant of dense primary forest.


title: Clouded leopard

text: It is one of the most talented climbers among the cats. Captive clouded leopards have been observed to climb down vertical tree trunks head first, and hang on to branches with their hind paws bent around branchings of tree limbs. They are capable of supination and can even hang down from branches only by bending their hind paws and their tail around them. When jumping down, they keep hanging on to a branch this way until the last moment. They can climb on horizontal branches with their back to the ground, and in this position make short jumps forward. When balancing on thin branches, they use their long tails to steer. They can easily jump up to high.


title: Clouded leopard

text: They use trees as daytime rest sites, but also spend time on the ground when hunting at night. Captive clouded leopards have been observed to scent mark by spraying urine and rubbing their heads on prominent objects.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Their vocalisations include a short high-pitched meow call, a loud crying call, both emitted when a cat is trying to locate another one over a long or short distance; they prusten and raise their muzzle when meeting each other in a friendly manner; when aggressive, they growl with a low-pitched sound and hiss with exposed teeth and wrinkled nose.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Radio-collared clouded leopards were foremost active by night but also showed crepuscular activity peaks.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In 2016, clouded leopards were detected in the forest complex of Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary and Khao Sok National Park during camera trapping surveys; 15 individuals were identified in a core zone of with population density estimated at 5.06 individuals per ; but only 12 individuals were identified in an edge zone of , which is more disturbed by humans, with density estimated at 3.13 individuals per .


title: Clouded leopard

text: When hunting, the clouded leopard stalks its prey or waits for the prey to approach. After making and feeding on a kill, it usually retreats into trees to digest and rest. Its prey includes both arboreal and terrestrial vertebrates.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Pocock presumed that it is adapted for preying upon herbivorous mammals of considerable bulk because of its powerful build, long canines and the deep penetration of its bites. In Thailand, clouded leopards have been observed preying on southern pig-tailed macaque ("Macaca nemestrina"), Indian hog deer ("Hyelaphus porcinus"), Bengal slow loris ("Nycticebus bengalensis"), Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine ("Atherurus macrourus"), Malayan pangolin ("Manis javanica") and Berdmore's ground squirrel ("Menetes berdmorei"). Known prey species in China include barking deer ("Muntiacus") and pheasants.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In northern Peninsular Malaysia, a male clouded leopard was photographed while carrying a binturong ("Arctictis binturong") in its jaws.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Both males and females average 26 months at first reproduction. The female is in estrus for about six days, with her estrous cycle lasting about 30 days. In the wild, mating usually occurs between December and March. The pair mates multiple times over the course of several days. The male grasps the female by the neck who responds with vocalization. Occasionally, he also bites her during courtship and is very aggressive during sexual encounters. Females can bear one litter each year. The male is not involved in raising the cubs.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The female gives birth to a litter of one to five, mostly three cubs, after a gestation period of 93 ± 6 days. Cubs are born with closed eyes and weigh from . Their spots are solid dark, rather than dark rings. Their eyes open after about 10 days. They are active within five weeks and fully weaned at around three months of age. They attain the adult coat pattern at around six months and become independent after around 10 months.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Many of the remaining forest areas are too small to ensure the long-term persistence of clouded leopard populations. They are threatened by habitat loss following large–scale deforestation and commercial poaching for the wildlife trade. Skins, claws and teeth are offered for decoration and clothing, bones and meat as substitute for body parts of the tiger in traditional Asian medicine and tonics, and live animals for the pet trade.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In Myanmar, 301 body parts of at least 279 clouded leopards, mostly skins and skeletons, were observed in four markets surveyed between 1991 and 2006. Three of the surveyed markets are situated on international borders with China and Thailand, and cater to international buyers. Implementation and enforcement of CITES is considered inadequate.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In Nepal, 27 cases of clouded leopard body parts were discovered between November 1988 and March 2020 in nine districts of the country, comprising at least 51 individual clouded leopards. In 17 of these cases, the poachers and traders were arrested.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The clouded leopard is listed in CITES Appendix I and protected over most of its range. Hunting is banned in Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It is not legally protected outside Bhutan's protected areas. Hunting is regulated in Laos. No information about its protection status is available from Cambodia. These bans, however, are poorly enforced in India, Malaysia and Thailand.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In the United States, the clouded leopard is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, prohibiting trade in live animals or body parts.


title: Clouded leopard

text: International Clouded Leopard Day is celebrated each year on 4 August since 2018 in zoos and conservation organizations all over the world.


title: Clouded leopard

text: Clouded leopards have been kept in zoos since the early 20th century. The international studbook was initiated in the 1970s. Coordinated breeding programs were started in the 1980s and encompass the European Endangered Species Programme, the Species Survival Plan, and the Indian Conservation Breeding Programme. As of 2014, 64 institutions keep clouded leopards, including six zoos in India:


title: Clouded leopard

text: Early captive-breeding programs involving clouded leopards were not successful, largely due to ignorance of their courtship behaviour. Males have the reputation of being aggressive towards females. For breeding success, it has been deemed extremely important that male and female clouded leopards are compatible. Introducing pairs at a young age gives them opportunities to bond and breed successfully. Facilities breeding clouded leopards need to provide the female with a secluded, off-exhibit area. There has been some recent captive breeding success using artificial insemination with cubs successfully born in 1992, 2015 and 2017.


title: Clouded leopard

text: A study on morbidity and mortality rate of 271 captive clouded leopards across 44 zoos in Europe, Asia and Australia showed that 17% of them died because of respiratory disease, 12% due to maternal neglect and starvation, 10% from generalized infectious disease, 10% from digestive diseases, and 10% from trauma.


title: Clouded leopard

text: In March 2011, two breeding females at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere gave birth to three cubs, which were raised by zookeepers. Each cub weighed . In June 2011, two cubs were born at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. The breeding pair was brought from the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand in an ongoing education and research exchange program. Four cubs were born at Nashville Zoo in 2012. In May 2015, four cubs were born in Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.


title: Clouded leopard

text: The Rukai people of Taiwan considered the hunting of clouded leopards a taboo. It is the state animal of the Indian state of Meghalaya. In the 1970s, the print of Rama Samaraweera's painting "Clouded leopard" was a best-seller in the USA.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States. It is commonly believed that the cuisine originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Southern plantations during the Antebellum period; however, it was strongly influenced by the traditional practices of West Africans and Southeastern Native Americans from its inception. Due to the historical presence of African Americans in the region, soul food is closely associated with the cuisine of the American South although today it has become an easily identifiable and celebrated aspect of mainstream American food culture.


title: Soul food

text: The expression "soul food" originated in the mid-1960s, when "soul" was a common word used to describe African-American culture.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food originated in the Deep South, mainly Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, where there was a large population of enslaved peoples.


title: Soul food

text: The term "soul food" became popular in the 1960s and 1970s in the midst of the Black Power movement. One of the earliest written uses of the term is found in "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," which was published in 1965. LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) published an article entitled "Soul Food" and was one of the key proponents for establishing the food as a part of the Black American identity. Those who had participated in the Great Migration found within soul food a reminder of the home and family they had left behind after moving to unfamiliar northern cities. Soul food restaurants were black-owned businesses that served as neighborhood meeting places where people socialized and ate together.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food recipes have pre-slavery influences, as West African and European foodways were adapted to the environment of the region. Many of the foods integral to the cuisine originate from the limited rations given to enslaved people by their planters and masters. Enslaved people were typically given a peck of cornmeal and 3-4 pounds of pork per week, and from those rations come soul food staples such as cornbread, fried catfish, barbecued ribs, chitterlings, and neckbones. It has been noted that enslaved Africans were the primary consumers of cooked greens (collards, beets, dandelion, kale, and purslane) and sweet potatoes for a portion of US history.


title: Soul food

text: Most enslaved people needed to consume a high-calorie diet, to replenish the calories spent working long days in the fields or performing other physically arduous tasks. This led to time-honored soul food traditions like frying foods, breading meats and fishes with cornmeal, and mixing meats with vegetables (e.g. putting pork in collard greens). Eventually, this slave-invented style of cooking was adopted into larger Southern culture, as slave owners gave special privileges to slaves with cooking skills.


title: Soul food

text: Impoverished whites and blacks in the South cooked many of the same dishes stemming from the soul tradition, but styles of preparation sometimes varied. Certain techniques popular in soul and Southern cuisines (i.e., frying meat and using all parts of the animal for consumption) are shared with ancient cultures all over the world, including China, Egypt, and Rome.


title: Soul food

text: Introduction of soul food to northern cities such as Washington D.C. also came from private chefs in the White House. Many American presidents have desired French cooking, and have sought after black chefs given their Creole background. The 23rd President of the United States Benjamin Harrison, and former first lady Caroline Harrison, took this same route when they terminated their French cooking staff for a black woman by the name of Dolly Johnson.


title: Soul food

text: One famous relationship includes the bond formed between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Zephyr Wright. Wright became a great influence to Johnson in fighting for civil rights as he saw her treatment and segregation as they would travel throughout the south. Johnson even had Wright present at the signing of several civil rights laws. Lizzie McDuffie, a former maid and cook to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, assisted her boss during the 1936 election simply by making the president more relatable to black voters. With public awareness of black Americans preparing food in the presidential kitchen, this in turn helped to sway minority votes for hopeful presidential candidates such as John F. Kennedy.


title: Soul food

text: Southeastern Native American culture is an important element of Southern cuisine. From their cultures came one of the main staples of the Southern diet: corn (maize), either ground into meal or limed with an alkaline salt to make hominy, in a Native American process known as nixtamalization. Corn was used to make all kinds of dishes, from the familiar cornbread and grits, to liquors such as moonshine and whiskey (which are still important to the Southern economy).


title: Soul food

text: Many fruits are available in this region: blackberries, muscadines, raspberries, and many other wild berries were part of Southern Native Americans' diets, as well.


title: Soul food

text: African, European, and Native Americans of the American South supplemented their diets with meats derived from the hunting of native game. What meats people ate depended on seasonal availability and geographical region. Common game included opossums, rabbits, and squirrels. Livestock, adopted from Europeans, in the form of cattle and hogs, were kept.


title: Soul food

text: When game or livestock was killed, the entire animal was used. Aside from the meat, it was common for them to eat organ meats such as brains, livers, and intestines. This tradition remains today in hallmark dishes like chitterlings (commonly called "chit'lins"), which are small intestines of hogs; livermush (a common dish in the Carolinas made from hog liver); and pork brains and eggs. The fat of the animals, particularly hogs, was rendered and used for cooking and frying. Many of the early European settlers in the South learned Native American cooking methods, and so cultural diffusion was set in motion for the Southern dish.


title: Soul food

text: Scholars have noted the substantial African influence found in soul food recipes, especially from the West and Central regions of Africa. This influence can be seen through the heat level of many soul food dishes, as well as many ingredients found within them. Peppers used to add spice to food included malagueta pepper, as well as peppers native to the western hemisphere such as red (cayenne) peppers. Several foods that are essential in southern cuisine and soul food were domesticated or consumed in the African savanna and the tropical regions of West and Central Africa. These include pigeon peas, black-eyed peas, okra, and sorghum.


title: Soul food

text: It has also been noted that a species of rice was domesticated in Africa, thus many Africans who were brought to the Americas kept their knowledge for rice cooking. Rice is a staple side dish in the Lowcountry region and in Southern Louisiana. Rice is the center of dishes such as jambalaya and red beans and rice which are popular in Southern Louisiana.


title: Soul food

text: There are many documented parallels between the foodways of West Africans and soul food recipes. The consumption of sweet potatoes in the US is reminiscent of the consumption of yams in West Africa. The frequent consumption of cornbread by African-Americans is analogous to West Africans' use of fufu to soak up stews.


title: Soul food

text: West Africans also cooked meat over open pits, and thus it is possible that enslaved Africans came to the New World with knowledge of this cooking technique (it is also possible they learned it from Native Americans, since Native Americans barbecued as a cooking technique).


title: Soul food

text: Researchers state that many tribes in Africa utilized a vegetarian/plant based diet because of its simplicity. This included the way food was prepared as well as served. It was not uncommon to see food served out of an empty gourd. Many techniques to change the overall flavor of staple food items such as nuts, seeds, and rice contributed to added dimensions of evolving flavors. These techniques included roasting, frying with palm oil, baking in ashes, and steaming in leaves such as banana leaf.


title: Soul food

text: Because it was illegal in many states for slaves to learn to read or write, soul food recipes and cooking techniques tended to be passed along orally, until after emancipation.


title: Soul food

text: The first soul food cookbook is attributed to Abby Fisher, entitled "What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking" and published in 1881. "Good Things to Eat" was published in 1911; the author, Rufus Estes, was a former slave who worked for the Pullman railway car service. Many other cookbooks were written by Black Americans during that time, but as they were not widely distributed, most are now lost.


title: Soul food

text: Since the mid-20th century, many cookbooks highlighting soul food and African-American foodways have been compiled and published. One notable soul food chef is celebrated traditional Southern chef and author Edna Lewis, who released a series of books between 1972 and 2003, including "A Taste of Country Cooking" in which she weaves stories of her childhood in Freetown, Virginia into her recipes for "real Southern food".


title: Soul food

text: Another early and influential soul food cookbook is Vertamae Grosvenor's "Vibration Cooking, or the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl", originally published in 1970, focused on South Carolina Lowcountry/Geechee/Gullah cooking. Its focus on spontaneity in the kitchen—cooking by "vibration" rather than precisely measuring ingredients, as well as "making do" with ingredients on hand—captured the essence of traditional African-American cooking techniques. The simple, healthful, basic ingredients of lowcountry cuisine, like shrimp, oysters, crab, fresh produce, rice and sweet potatoes, made it a bestseller.


title: Soul food

text: Usher boards and Women's Day committees of various religious congregations large and small, and even public service and social welfare organizations such as the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) have produced cookbooks to fund their operations and charitable enterprises. The NCNW produced its first cookbook, "The Historical Cookbook of the American Negro", in 1958, and revived the practice in 1993, producing a popular series of cookbooks featuring recipes by famous Black Americans, among them: "The Black Family Reunion Cookbook" (1991), "Celebrating Our Mothers' Kitchens: Treasured Memories and Tested Recipes" (1994), and "Mother Africa's Table: A Chronicle of Celebration" (1998). The NCNW also recently reissued "The Historical Cookbook".


title: Soul food

text: Soul food originated in the southern region of the US and is consumed by African-Americans across the nation. Traditional soul food cooking is seen as one of the ways enslaved Africans passed their traditions to their descendants once they were brought to the US, and is a cultural creation stemming from slavery and Native American and European influences.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food recipes are popular in the South due to the accessibility and affordability of the ingredients.


title: Soul food

text: Scholars have noted that while white Americans provided the material supplies for soul food dishes, the cooking techniques found in many of the dishes have been visibly influenced by the enslaved Africans themselves. Dishes derived by slaves consisted of many vegetables and grains because slave owners felt more meat would cause the slave to become lethargic with less energy to tend to the crops.


title: Soul food

text: The bountiful vegetables that were found in Africa, were substituted in dishes down south with new leafy greens consisting of dandelion, turnip, and beet greens. Pork, more specifically hog, was introduced into several dishes in the form of cracklins from the skin, pig's feet, chitterlings, and lard used to increase the fat intake into vegetarian dishes. Spices such as thyme, and bay leaf blended with onion and garlic gave dishes their own characteristics.


title: Soul food

text: Figures such as LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Elijah Muhammad, and Dick Gregory played notable roles in shaping the conversation around soul food. Muhammad and Gregory opposed soul food because they felt it was unhealthy food and was slowly killing African-Americans. They saw soul food as a remnant of oppression and felt it should be left behind. Many African-Americans were offended by the Nation of Islam's rejection of pork as it is a staple ingredient used to flavor many dishes.


title: Soul food

text: Stokely Carmichael also spoke out against soul food, claiming that it was not true African food due to its colonial and European influence. Despite this, many voices in the Black Power Movement saw soul food as something African-Americans should take pride in, and used it to distinguish African-Americans from white Americans. Proponents of soul food embraced the concept of it, and used it as a counterclaim to the argument that African-Americans had no culture or cuisine.


title: Soul food

text: The magazine "Ebony Jr!" was important in transmitting the cultural relevance of soul food dishes to middle-class African-American children who typically ate a more standard American diet.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food is frequently found at religious rituals and social events such as funerals, fellowship, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in the Black community.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food spread throughout the United States when African Americans from the South moved to major cities across the country such as Chicago and New York City. They brought with them the foods and traditions of the Southern United States, where they were enslaved.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food prepared traditionally and consumed in large amounts can be detrimental to one's health. Opponents to soul food have been vocal about health concerns surrounding the culinary traditions since the name was coined in the mid-20th century.


title: Soul food

text: Soul food has been criticized for its high starch, fat, sodium, cholesterol, and caloric content, as well as the inexpensive and often low-quality nature of the ingredients such as salted pork and cornmeal. In light of this, soul food has been implicated by some in the disproportionately high rates of high blood pressure (hypertension), type 2 diabetes, clogged arteries (atherosclerosis), stroke, and heart attack suffered by African-Americans. Figures who led discussions surrounding the negative impacts of soul food include Dr. Alvenia Fulton, Dick Gregory, and Elijah Muhammad.


title: Soul food

text: On the other hand, critics and traditionalists have argued that attempts to make soul food healthier also make it less tasty, as well as less culturally/ethnically authentic.


title: Soul food

text: A foundational difference in how health is perceived of being contemporary is that soul food may differ from "traditional" styles is the widely different structures of agriculture.


title: Soul food

text: Fueled by federal subsidies, the agricultural system in the United States became industrialized as the nutritional value of most processed foods, and not just those implicated in a traditional perception of soul food, have degraded. This urges a consideration of how concepts of racial authenticity evolve alongside changes in the structures that make some foods more available and accessible than others.


title: Soul food

text: An important aspect of the preparation of soul food was the reuse of cooking lard. Because many cooks could not afford to buy new shortening to replace what they used, they would pour the liquefied cooking grease into a container. After cooling completely, the grease re-solidified and could be used again the next time the cook required lard.


title: Soul food

text: With changing fashions and perceptions of "healthy" eating, some cooks may use preparation methods that differ from those of cooks who came before them: using liquid oil like vegetable oil or canola oil for frying and cooking, and using smoked turkey instead of pork, for example. Changes in hog farming techniques have also resulted in drastically leaner pork, in the 21st and late 20th centuries. Some cooks have even adapted recipes to include vegetarian alternatives to traditional ingredients, including tofu and soy-based analogues.


title: Soul food

text: Several of the ingredients included in soul food recipes have pronounced health benefits. Collard and other greens are rich sources of several vitamins (including vitamin A, B, folic acid or vitamin B, vitamin K, and C), minerals (manganese, iron, and calcium), fiber, and small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. They also contain a number of phytonutrients, which are thought to play a role in the prevention of ovarian and breast cancers.


title: Soul food

text: The traditional preparation of soul food vegetables often consists of high temperatures or slow cooking methods, which can lead the water-soluble vitamins (e.g., Vitamin C and the B complex vitamins) to be destroyed or leached out into the water in which the greens cooked. This water is often consumed and is known as pot liquor. Because it contains micronutrients from the greens cooked in it, pot liquor contributes to the nutritional value of a meal when consumed.


title: Soul food

text: Peas and legumes are inexpensive sources of protein, and they also contain important vitamins, minerals, and fiber.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The PT-91 Twardy (, ) is a Polish main battle tank. A development of the T-72M1, it entered service in 1995. The PT-91 was designed at the ("Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Urządzeń Mechanicznych", or "Research and Development Centre for Mechanical Appliances") and is produced by the Bumar Łabędy company, part of the Bumar Group, a Polish technical military consortium. Changes from the T-72M include a new dual-axis stabilized fire-control system, reactive armour, a more powerful engine, transmission and new automatic loader.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Unlike many other T-72 upgrades, Polish Army PT-91s feature elements created almost exclusively by domestic companies, including the new engine, fire control system, and all communication system elements. Many of the elements were used to upgrade existing fleets of T-72 tanks in countries including the Czech Republic (T-72M4 CZ), Georgia (T-72SIM-1), and India (T-72 Ajeya Mk. 2). A total of 232 PT-91 tanks were delivered to the Polish Land Forces: 92 newly built vehicles and 140 from refurbished T-72A and T-72M1 tanks, designated PT-91M1 and PT-91MA1, respectively.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: In the late 1980s, the Polish Army modernized all of its obsolete T-55 tanks to the T-55AM "Mérida" standard. The successful conversion convinced the General Staff that similar modernization programs could be applied to other Soviet-designed tanks made in Poland and used by the Polish Armed Forces. In late 1988, the decision was made to prepare the modernization of the T-72M1, using experience gained from the production of licensed T-72M (obiekt 172M-E3 – Polish army designation T-72), T-72M1 (obiekt 172M-E5) and T-72M1K (Polish army designation T-72M1D).


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The Gliwice-based , the "Research and Development Centre of Mechanical Systems" () was chosen as the main design bureau. However, initially, the work progressed at a very slow pace, mainly because the Polish General Staff was also considering the purchase of a newer version of the T-72 (T-72S) or the modern T-80.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: After the political upheaval of 1989 and dissolution of the Soviet bloc, Polish-Soviet talks on purchase of modern tanks came to a halt and support for designing a new Polish tank gained momentum. The first design proposed by the bureau was code-named "Wilk" (Polish for "wolf"), but the project was canceled. Instead, priority was shifted to a different project named "Twardy".


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The basic aim of the T-72 conversion was to adapt it to the reality of modern warfare and fix its most visible deficiencies. Among those were low mobility, insufficient armour, lack of a fire control system and poor stabilisation of the main gun, which resulted in poor firing accuracy. An additional problem was the lack of passive night vision aiming systems.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Starting in July 1991, T-72 modernization programs were implemented by the Bumar-Labedy factory, which had been producing T-72s under Soviet license. The modernized main battle tank was designated the PT-91 "Twardy". Bumar-Labedy enhanced the tank's armour protection, fire control system and the engine. In 1993, the Polish Defense Ministry ordered 20 PT-91 tanks, to be used for field trials and armed forces tests.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The new "" dynamic armour, developed by the Poland Military-Technical Institute, increased the main battle tank's protection from high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) projectiles and missiles. The protection consisted of 394 tiles with explosives, which would detonate in case of a direct hit. The tiles cover 9 m of the tank: 108 are placed on the turret, 118 on the hull and 84 on each side's anti-HEAT screens. The "Twardy" uses steel anti-HEAT screens instead of the rubber one used on the T-72.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The ERAWA tiles fit together almost without gaps, unlike the gaps on the modernized Soviet T-72 which measure up to 10–15 mm, noticeably decreasing their defensive effectiveness. There are two ERAWA modifications: "ERAWA"-1 and -2, differing in weight of the explosives. Experiments showed that the ERAWA dynamic defense decreases the high-explosive jet impact depth by 50–70% and that of penetrator (APFSDS) projectiles by 30–40%. Furthermore, ERAWA's explosive containers do not detonate when hit by a shot of up to 30 mm calibre or by shell or mine fragments, or when covered in burning napalm or petrol.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The "Twardy" is armed with the same 2A46 125 mm smoothbore gun used in the T-72, fitted with an automatic reloading mechanism which reduces the tank crew by one, as it replaces the gun loader, and gives a rate of fire of 8 to 10 rounds per minute. Additional armament comprises the 7.62 mm PKT coaxial general-purpose machine gun and 12.7 mm NSVT anti-aircraft heavy machine gun. The PT-91 has a thermosmoke device that generates smoke screens from fuel, and has 24 grenade launchers fitted with smoke, anti-personnel frag, or tear gas grenades developed specifically to provide a non-lethal protection.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The modernization of the fire control system began with replacing the older Soviet 2Є28M two-plane stabilizer with a new stabilizer developed in Slovakia. The system has an electronic information block showing the tank's technical condition. Furthermore, it informs the commander when the sighted fire becomes ineffective from excessively high cross-country speed or other reasons.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The fire control system, developed by Polish engineers, contains the PCD gunner's day sight and the TES thermovision night sight developed by the Israeli company El-Op, the POD-72commander's combined day-night passive observation and aiming sight, a ballistic computer, a laser rangefinder, and a data system processing information for the ballistic computer. The sighting of the ballistic computer depends on the target's speed, weather conditions, projectile temperature, and projectile type.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The driver uses the US-DK-1 control and diagnostic complex to control the tank's main systems, displaying information on a monitor. The driver's night sight was replaced by the "Radomka" passive night sight.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The modernized tank's increased weight led the developers to add a more powerful engine: a 12-cylinder S-12U diesel engine (a modernized version of the Soviet V-46-6) produced in Warsaw by PZL-Wola, generating 850 hp instead of 780. The main improvement is the modernized fuel and air injection system. This caused, however, a noticeable decrease in the tank's road endurance. The latest "Twardy" variants have the 1,000 hp S-1000 engine with a turbocharger.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Production variant for the Polish Army, an extensively modernized development of the T-72M1. Most are equipped with an SKO-1M Drawa-1T dual-axis stabilized fire control system (with TES – Thermal Elbow Sight; the total number of delivered thermal sights is 202<ref name="NTW 05/09">Andrzej Kliński, Nowa Technika Wojskowa – May 2008 page 22 – Odmłodzona Drawa.</ref>) though some early production vehicles have a SKO-1 Drawa (with NV sight), "Erawa" reactive armour, a PCO SSC-1 Obra-1 laser-warning system and 850 hp PZL-Wola S-12U engine.<ref name="NTW 09/07">Andrzej Kliński, Nowa Technika Wojskowa – September 2007 page 14 – Jak można zmodernizować Twardego?</ref> The first 20 initial production vehicles were delivered to Polish Land Forces in 1993–1994. Another 78 full-scale production vehicles were delivered 1995–1997, 135 modernized T-72M1 tanks (made in the late 80s) were delivered between 1998 and 2002. Both new and modernized tanks have the same combat capabilities. The Polish Army uses PT-91s in 3 variants– PT-91, PT-91M and the PT-91MA1.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Development variant with a PZL-Wola S-1000 1,000 hp engine with mechanic transmission and a number of other minor changes. Used for trials and as a demonstrator on military exhibitions.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("Z" for "Zmodernizowany" – literally "Modernized") Further development with a SAGEM Savan-15 fire control system. In live-fire tests the Savan-15 has a minor advantage in accuracy over the Drawa.<ref name= "NTW 11/99">Nowa Technika Wojskowa – November 1999 page 18 – Polskie T-72 – Co dalej? - by Tomasz Begier and Dariusz Użycki</ref> The biggest advantage is a new gun stabilization system that provides a significant increase in accuracy when the tank is on the move. Later it was used as a base to develop the PT-91M. This variant has won a number of stress tests in Malaysia over the T-90, T-84 and K1 tanks, and has won the competition for a new Malaysian MBT. Only one prototype was made.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("M" for "Malaysia") Production export variant for Malaysia with a Sagem Savan-15 fire control system, a new 1,000 hp powerpack, and a Renk automatic transmission, bringing its top speed to 70 km/h. Its main gun has been changed to a ZTS 2A46MS 125 mm gun, along with a 7.62 mm FN MAG coaxial machine gun and a 12.7 mm FN Browning M2 HB AA machine gun. This variant is equipped with a Sagem panoramic sight, a Sagem laser gyro inertial navigation system, turret stabilisation system, Obra-3 laser-warning system, and is integrated with 81 mm smoke grenade launchers, CBRN warning and protection system, and Thales communication system. It also features ERAWA 2 Explosive Reactive Armour, and German-made tank tracks (Diehl Defence). Two prototypes were made (renamed PT-91E and PT-91Ex), then 48 serial PT-91M "Malaj" vehicles were produced from 2007–2009.<ref name="NTW 10/05">Nowa Technika Wojskowa – October 2005 page 9 – Pierwsza prezentacja "Malaja" - by Andrzej Kliński</ref>


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("E" for "Export") Renamed prototypes of the PT-91M used as demonstrators of the export variant shown at military exhibitions. The PT-91E is an initial prototype, initially named SP1 (it is the same vehicle that was shown on military parade in Kuala Lumpur in 2005). PT-91Ex is the second prototype, named SP2.<ref name="NTW 11/07">Nowa Technika Wojskowa – November 2007 page 15 – Pokaz "Malaja" i CV90120-T na Drawsku – by Andrzej Kliński</ref> Both vehicles faced a number of tests in Malaysia. SP1 was used for traction tests and was driven 7000 km offroad in Malaysia. SP2 achieved 2000 km with 500 firings of the main cannon. The PT-91Ex is very similar to PT-91M, and is offered for export to other countries.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("P" for "Peru") A demonstrator for the SITDEF Peru 2009 military exhibition, the PT-91P is a cheaper alternative to the PT-91Ex. This variant is equipped with the latest PCO Drawa-TG fire control system, a thermal sight, and a modern communication system (Radmor RRC9310 radio, WB Electronics Fonet-IP communication system and Teldat battlefield management system). The vehicle was shown at a number of South American events including the SITDEF Peru 2009 Expo.<ref name="NTW 04/09">Nowa Technika Wojskowa – April 2009 page 16 – Twardy na wystawie w Peru – by Andrzej Kliński</ref>


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("U" for "Urbanizowany" – Tank to fight in urbanized terrain) A demonstrator for the MSPO 2011 military exhibition. This is an offer for the Polish Army which involves certain modifications of the T-72 and PT-91 tanks. The modification includes installation of such additional equipment as a remote-controlled cannon with an optical system, an omnidirectional observation system, add-on armour, and further engineering equipment. The PT-72U is equipped with a remote-controlled weapon station armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun mounted to the crew commander hatch. The system had a fire rotation of 360° and an elevation angle for the gun from -5° to 55°.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The observation system is equipped with 8 day–night cameras with the observation angle 55° and a rotary passive camera FLIR which has up to 26 times optical zoom. The armour package has chassis and turret bar armour. The bottom of the chassis is equipped with reactive armour and add-on armour. The PT-72U is equipped with a full range of new modern internal and external communication tools, allowing communication also via the internet. There were plans to modernize 84 Armenian T-72s to the PT-72U standard.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: A further development introduced in 2016. Upgrades include improved armour, armament, and mobility. The hull armour and cast turret have been upgraded with add-on composite armour equivalent to up to 1000 mm RHA (rolled homogeneous armour), supplied by Germany. The protection can be improved with Polish ERAWA explosive reactive armour. The 125 mm smoothbore cannon has been replaced with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon compatible with NATO ammunition and uses a carousel-type autoloader. This autoloader is separate from the crew compartment, where the T-72 autoloader was located. The manned 12.7 mm machine gun has been upgraded to be remotely operated.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Other improvements include an upgraded fire control system. The tank is proposed to be fitted with a new engine, options for which include an unspecified Serbian turbocharged diesel, a German 1088 hp, Serbian V46-TK, and potentially yet-to-be-developed 1200 hp engines. Other improvements include rubber skirts covering the lower hull and the tracks, and new tracks based on those found on German Leopard 2s, which can be fitted with deep wading kits to allow it to ford water obstacles up to 13 feet (4 meters) deep. The upgrade can be applied to both PT-91s and T-72M1s, of which Poland has a total of 823 (233 PT-91s, 120 active T-72M1s, and 470 reserve T-72M1s). The vehicle did not enter mass production.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The main goals of the PT-17 tank were to increase firepower and fire maneuverability, increase mobility and survivability on the battlefield, improve crew comfort, and increase mission duration. The demonstrator was developed in cooperation with Ukrainian companies that supplied the tank turret.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The PT-17's power range includes a S1000R ESM-350M engine and a reinforced suspension. Diehl rubber tracks are used. The chassis equipment includes an auxiliary power generator (APU), air conditioning, a new steering system with shuttlecock and a PCO KDN-1 Nyks day/night reversing camera.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The tank turret is a Ukrainian construction, featuring the Ukrainian KBM-2 smoothbore 120 mm cannon, with a barrel length of L50, and a 22 mm ammunition-charge unit mounted in the niche of the turret. The total ammunition capacity is 50 shells. The armament is supplemented by a 7.62 mm caliber machine gun and a remotely mounted ZSMU-1276 armament module manufactured by Zakłady Mechaniczne "Tarnów" S.A. The turret was equipped with stabilized sight-and-sight optics, GOC-1 Nike and GOD-1 Iris from PCO S.A and BMS. Optionally, the manufacturer advises on the use of Safran's VIGY-15 panoramic day-observation device.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The additional composite armour of both the hull and the turret is expected to increase survival of the tank on the battlefield, as is the installed PCO SSP-1 OBRA-3 universal self-propelled vehicle system and two 6-tube intermittent grenade launchers.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Features installed on the demonstrator systems are just an example of the possibilities. Ultimately, they can be configured according to the needs of the potential recipient.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Although the PT-91M2's modernization objectives are the same as the PT-17's, the range of the PT-91M2 differs considerably. The S-12U engine is powered by an 850 horsepower engine with enhanced mechanical transmission (Cx version). Tracks come with rubber overlays developed by Obrum / Bumar. Like the PT-17, reinforced suspension (torsion shafts, shock absorbers, and elastomer bumpers) are used. Among the chassis, equipment included the auxiliary power generator (APU), the modernized rotary car charger, the PNK-72 "Radomka" night-vision, and PCO KDN-1 Nyks night-time reversing camera. Hull protection is provided by the ERAWA III reactive armour and rod armour at the rear of the chassis.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Increased firepower is planned to be achieved by installing a 125 mm 2M46MS caliber Slovak cannon with a barrel length of 48 calibres. Inside the turret, there is also a change to the location of the second round of ammunition. Significantly, the PT-91M2 demonstrated a SAVAN-15 French fire control system (SAVAN-15) from Safran, previously used in PT-91M tanks in Malaysia. A TKN-3z night vision mount is available for the commander. The PT-91M2 has a SOD Observation System, a universal PCO SSP-1 OBRA-3 vehicle self-propelled system (both PCO S.A.), and two modules each of 12 902A smoke grenades. Additional protection for the turret includes ERAWA reactive armour modules.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: WZT is the acronym of for "Wóz Zabezpieczenia Technicznego" literally "Technical Support Vehicle": it indicates a family of armoured recovery vehicles based on the PT-91/T-72 tank hull, with over 400 vehicles delivered to the clients. It is armed with a 12.7 mm ( in) machine-gun fitted to the commander's hatch. Standard equipment includes: crane with telescopic jib that can lift a maximum load of fifteen tonnes, front-mounted stabilizing dozer blade, main and secondary winches.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("MID" for "Maszyna Inżynieryjno-Drogowa" – lit. "Engineering-Roading Machine"; "Bizon" is Polish for "Bison") – Polish engineering tank based on the PT-91 tank hull.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("PMC" for "Pomocniczy Most Czołgowy" – lit. "Auxiliary Tank Bridge") – Polish Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge is a close-support bridgelayer. The PMC-90, developed on the basis of PT-91, is able to carry out missions required to operations of combat forces.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The "PZA" ("Przeciwlotniczy Zestaw Artyleryjski", meaning "AA Artillery System"; “Loara” means “Loire” in Polish) is an armoured self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery system developed in the late 1990s. Based around the "Twardy" chassis, this system mounts an armoured turret holding two Oerlikon KDA 35 mm cannons linked to a radar fire control system. It was planned that it would work closely together with PZR “Loara” (anti-aircraft rocket system) vehicles built on the basis of the PZA Loara but that project is currently on hold. The Loara is an autonomous fire unit capable of performing its tasks independently or acting as a component of a wider air defense system.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The system has two radars, 3D search radar and engagement radar. The search radar has a range of and is capable of tracking and identifying up to 64 targets at once. The radar system can be operated on the move, refreshing its data every second. The system has a laser range-finder, TV and FLIR cameras giving the system both all-weather day/night capabilities and the ability to operate entirely passively in a heavy ECM environment. The system has a reaction time less than 10 seconds. The system can engage aircraft flying at altitudes from very low altitudes up to 5,000 m (16,500 ft), and flying at speeds up to 500 m/s (1,125 mph). It is effective against infantry, lightly armoured ground and naval targets.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: SJ-09 is one of the elements of the T-72 and PT-91 crew training system. The system is composed of both trainers teaching crew trainees how to operate different systems of the tank and simulators allowing training more advanced situations. For example, the SJ-02 is used to teach how to load the main gun. The SJ-09 is the driver training vehicle used to train drivers in operating of the vehicle as big and heavy as main battle tank. The vehicle is a tank chassis that has the turret replaced with an instructor station. All unnecessary equipment (like side skirts) were removed. The vehicle has a dummy main gun that obstructs the driver's view, like in the real tank. Vehicles used by the Polish Army were rebuilt from the few original T-72 Ural in Polish inventory delivered from Soviet Union. Another vehicle was built new for the Malaysian Army as a part of the PT-91M order.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: ("Goryl" is Polish for "Gorilla") – project of a Polish main battle tank designed using experience gained on PT-91 project. The tank would be similar in its design to Merkava (engine at front), and it would feature redesigned engine, transmission and fire control system. Armour: composite + ERA, main armament: 120/125 mm gun, 60 mm mortar, secondary armament: 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun, 12.7 mm NSWT AA machine gun, crew: 3. This program was also known under the name Anders. The program was canceled at an early stage.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The Gepard (Polish for "Cheetah"), sometimes known as PT-2001, is another modification project of a Polish main battle tank prepared as a future modernisation programme for the T-72 family. The programme was called for, after the first PT-91 proposition fell below requirements. Two propositions were submitted, one by Bumar which provided a project with modified frontal armour, different mortar and sporting a Leclerc–like a turret with the 2A46 main gun. OBRUM's competing project had new front and sides reactive armour and a L-44 main gun.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Despite considerable improvements, neither was approved for financial reasons, and no prototypes were built. However, design experience helped with new PT-91 versions.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: The "Krab" (Polish for "Crab") is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer designed by HSW S.A. with a OBRUM's UPG-NG chassis (a heavily modified variant of the SPG-1M vehicle) which utilizes only a handful of components from the PT-91 program such as the road wheels, suspension and S-12U power plant. It combines these with a licensed AS-90M "Braveheart" turret armed with a 52-calibre gun and WB Electronics Artillery Fire Control System Topaz.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: In 2014, this configuration was abandoned due to manufacturing flaws (microfractures detected in the vehicle's welded steel plates), numerous reliability concerns related to the automotive performance of the chassis and the loss of the Polish manufacturing line for the S-12U engine, and was replaced by the Korean-made K9 tracked chassis.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: 233 PT-91"s" were delivered between 1995 and 2002. 232 vehicles remain in service. An early prototype is preserved in the Land Forces Training Center museum in Poznań. 38 support vehicles were based on the T-72/PT-91 hull (29 WZT-3M armoured recovery vehicles, 8 MID engineering tanks, and 1 prototype PZA Loara self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon).


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: At the introduction of PT-91, the intention of Polish General Staff was to equip all brigades of the 11th Armoured Cavalry Division with the PT-91. At the time, the division had four brigades: the 10th Armoured Cavalry, 15th Armoured Cavalry, 17th Mechanised, and 34th Armoured Cavalry.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: In 2002, the 10th Armoured Cavalry brigade received Leopard 2A4 tanks donated to Poland by Germany. In 2007, the 15th Armoured Cavalry brigade was disbanded and the 17th Mechanised received the first KTO Rosomak. All these changes allowed the reallocation of PT-91s to other divisions, replacing the oldest T-72s. In early 2014, the 34th Brigade from Żagań received the first Leopard 2A5 tanks, shifting its PT-91s to the 9th Brigade in Braniewo, which previously used the T-72M1.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: A typical Polish PT-91 tank battalion is equipped with 58 tanks, composed of four frontline companies with 14 vehicles each, and 2 tanks for the battalion commander and the battalion second in command. Every company of 14 tanks is composed of three platoons, with 4 tanks in each and 2 tanks for the company commander and company's second in command.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: In 2007–2009, Bumar Łabędy delivered to Malaysia 48 PT-91M and 15 support vehicles (6 WZT-4 {WZT-91M} armoured recovery vehicle, 3 MID-M {MID-91M} engineering tank, 5 PMC Leguan {PMC-91M} - armoured vehicle-launched bridge and one SJ-09 driver training tank), ammo, spares and support for US$370 million. Operating capability was reached 1 September 2010.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: Upgraded Georgian army T-72SIM-1 tanks use the Drawa-T fire control system, a development of the fire control system on the PT-91. The FCS is equipped with laser range finder and thermal imaging sensor. The system is slightly different from the one used on Polish PT-91s: the commander uses an LCD screen instead of an eyepiece. The Thermal Elbow Sight thermal imaging sensor used in Georgian tanks is of the same (Israeli) origin as the one used on the PT-91, though the external housing is different.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: In April 1999, India ordered 44 WZT-3 armoured recovery vehicles, followed by orders in April 2002 (80 vehicles) and July 2005 (228 vehicles) for a total of 352 WZT-3s. These vehicles are used to support the T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks. Deliveries began in 2001, and India was planning to upgrade its Ajeya Mk1 tanks (local name for T-72M1) to Ajeya Mk2 standard, with some elements from PT-91, such as the Drawa-TE1 fire control system and the PZL-Wola S-1000 engine.


title: PT-91 Twardy

text: In October 2011, the Indian Defense Ministry announced that the state-owned BEML would produce an additional 204 WZT-3 armoured recovery vehicles – taking the total to 556 vehicles. The Ministry also clarified that no global tender was floated because it was a repeat order.


title: India at the Olympics

text: India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete Norman Pritchard winning two medals – both silver – in athletics and became the first Asian nation to win an Olympic medal.


title: India at the Olympics

text: The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has also competed at several Winter Olympic Games beginning in 1964.


title: India at the Olympics

text: Indian athletes have won 35 medals, all at the Summer Games. For a period of time, the Indian Men's Field Hockey Team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1928 and 1980. The run included eight gold medals of which six were won consecutively from 1928 to 1956.