Tajik leader told 'you are worthy' as cult takes off
Emomali Rahmon marks 25 years as leader of Tajikistan this month, and the state media are using song, verse and even book-readings to boost his cult of personality.
By News from Elsewhere......as found by BBC Monitoring You Are Worthy, a song performed by a quartet to words ostensibly written by Interior Minister and budding poet Ramazon Rahimzoda, was posted to YouTube and shared widely on pro-Rahmon sites, the Asia-Plus news agency reports. The quartet also performed at an anniversary concert attended by the president himself, and their song Leader of the Nation - one component of Mr Rahmon's elaborate official title - won them a standing ovation. Their latest efforts lauds the president as the "king of kings of our times", attributing the end of the 1992-1997 civil war and current "peace and tranquillity" to Mr Rahmon. Social media reflects a sharp divide between supporters of the president and those Tajiks who lament the decline of their political culture into "leader worship", as the writer Hafiz Boboyorov put it. "Our intellectual and clerical leaders are creating a new religion in the minds of people who are no longer capable of analysing anything," the Germany-based scholar wrote on Facebook. Other commentators told Asia-Plus the performers had little choice but to sing the president's praises "if they want to get any gigs". 'Blessings of the Leader' The authorities see no problem with all this. The Broadcasting Committee has told all radio stations to air readings of President Rahmon's books - like Minister Rahimzoda he is a prolific writer, with more than 20 published titles to his name. State radio chief Farrukh Ziyoyev told Asia-Plus this was a particular boon for people with poor eyesight who would not otherwise be able to study their leader's works on Tajikistan's place in the world. Actors and storytellers with a "good reading voices" will make the recordings, he reassured the public. The president's cult of personality has grown steadily over the years, but 2017 has seen it take off in a spectacular manner. Leading poet Kamol Nasrullo has dubbed him the "rising sun of Tajiks' happiness", and the country's second-ranking Muslim cleric, Hajji Husayn Musozoda, has hailed him as the "shadow of God". Towns try to outdo each other with elaborate welcome ceremonies on the president's visits, and one village went as far as to rebrand its Shahrinav Truth newspaper as The Blessings of the Leader, Radio Liberty's Tajik Service reported. But Mr Rahmon's cult may still have some catching-up to do in the highly competitive Central Asian presidential league, especially when comes to Turkmenistan's Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov - aka The Turkmenator. Reporting by Azim Rakhimov and Martin Morgan Next story: Eel-airplane hybrid named Japan's best mascot Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.