07-14-2014, 12:58 AM
Bykov looked at the two unknown persons sitting at the table. “I'd like to introduce two people who will be instrumental in helping reshape the culture of DV. First of all,”
- the dark man stood. He was rotund with refined Arabic features.- “Dr. Yoruc Asena, Professor of History at the Lomonosov Moscow University. His area of focus is the Ottoman Empire, which reigned as de facto leader of the Islamic world from the 15th to 19th centuries. After consultation with Dr. Asena, I have decided it is that specific era and cultural climate which will form the bedrock for our new DV.”
Everyone looked at Asena. This was ambitious. They were nation building, but in a very comprehensive manner. This was far more than government restructuring and economic programs married with military enforcement- all of which was very important. They were embarking on a project to change the way people thought. It was at once more subtle and much more far reaching. But it could be done.
“The other person with us Dr. Yasmina Qadir, a member of the Progressive School of Islam and an expert in gender studies in the Quran and in Islamic culture. Ladies and Gentlemen, the motivators for change must come from within the culture of the DV. Mothers and grandmothers are tired of seeing the suffering and deaths of their children and husbands, of fathers and brothers and uncles. There has been an increasingly vocal feminist movement among the Islamic nations for decades. We think it is time to unite those voices and use them as an instrument of change.”
Marcus looked at Dr. Qadir. Now her clothing made sense. She walked that line. Cultural pride and refusing to be seen only as a sexual object. But also refusing to cover her head to accept a subservient role. Her sharp gold eyes held years of suffering and fighting a deeply ingrained cultural patriarchy that had dominated Islam for so many years. It could not have been easy for her to hear them so casually talk about changing her society at such a fundamental level, no matter how terrible some of the injustices were. Then again, honor killings, the illegal but still prevalent practice of child brides, female genital mutilation, sexual slavery, and the glacial advancement of even the most basic of women's rights could force someone to seek out any ally they could find.
As if reading his thoughts, Bykov went on. “I want to make this as clear as possible. Ascendancy has no wish to obliterate the unique beauty and culture that we might refer to as Islamic. He has no interest in creating a carbon copy of Moscow or Paris or any other city or Dominance. This is NOT a culture war! But what must end is the chaos that thrives in the current culture where martyrs are worshiped, where any change is viewed as from the Devil. What must end is the sense of oppression and paranoia, and the resentment of more prosperous lands.”
Bykov stopped and looked at Dr. Qadir and Dr.Asena. He nodded to them. For them to be a part of this, they had to believe it was in the best interests of their people. His voice became lyrical, his cadence rhythmic. “The people of DV will learn to view themselves as part of a tradition that goes back centuries, that it is their true heritage, their birthright. It is the true gift of Islam to the world. It is the culture of the Turkish Sultans presiding over a thriving empire; of Saladin at Jerusalem treating the Crusading invaders with honor; of al-Mansur translating the vast amounts of world literature into Arabic, preserving them through the dark ages; of al-Kwarizmi and his gifts of the Hindu numeral system that all the world uses today, of al-jabr, algorithm, zenith and zero, of astronomy and geography”
His voice rose. “It is a culture that is rich in history and philosophy, of poetry, art and music, of tolerance and understanding.”
His voice became angry, indignant. “And it was stolen from them! Hijacked by the Wahhabist School of Islam, which has presented itself to the world as the face of Islam for the last hundred years and more.”
His voice became hard. “We will restore to the DV their rightful place in the world. We will give them back the history of themselves.”
He looked at each of them. “Each of you has a role to play in this. Everyone. This will be a difficult work. But I have the utmost confidence in you. We will succeed. The DV will thrive once again.”
It was difficult not to get swept along. Bykov did not use Force tricks or seem to use subtle voice manipulation. He spoke facts and he spoke them passionately. He had a knack for rhythm, certainly, as well as an ability to lead his listeners along with alliteration and rhetoric. But there seemed nothing phony about it. Marcus found himself very much interested in participating in the project, in adding what he could. Order. It was all about order.
Bykov then got down to details. Beginning with Press Affairs, he began outlining their strategy. Each department would play a contributing role. Even something as frivolous seeming as pop culture would play a huge role. People spent the majority of their time immersed in it, nearly from infancy. That tool would be consciously leveraged in a specific direction. Constructing a new cultural psyche that viewed itself as the heirs of the Ottoman Sultanate would require new heroes. Movies would lionize these cultural icons and events from the past, emphasizing their honor and courage and wisdom. Television would portray modern families dealing with modern life, dramas and comedies to break down prejudices and barriers, though deeply rooted in the bedrock of their faith. Documentaries and educational programs would reintroduce the history and world view that had been lost. Music would reflect this new-found optimism and historical pride, while at the same time reflecting the honest feelings of the listeners.
Then too, would there need to be a large number of DV celebrities and role models to be set up, people the youth could look up to and aspire to be. Reality based TV would give people laughter and optimism, a feeling they were part of and sharing with the global community. Elouera Galloway would spearhead special events designed to give the Islamic youth a voice in their entertainment, a sense that they were being respected, as well as expose them to alternative views, finally blunting the sharp edge of extremism. Debates would be held in many venues, large and small, pitting the relatively infantile- both in terms of age as well as attitude- Wahhabist School against a progressive Islam based on centuries of established history. The Quran would be discussed, no longer allowed to be the appropriated as the clothing with which patriarchy and oppression clothed itself. Dr. Qadir would spearhead outreach groups to unite the Islamic feminist movement, to give them a voice and sense of solidarity, to stigmatize the culture of death that had existed for so long.
And with all that, along with economic programs and a rebuilt infrastructure carried out by other Consulates, there would be a flooding of wallets and other media devices to the point that they were ubiquitous. The people of the dominance would find this new culture everywhere, new things and people to be excited about, new ideas and perspectives to talk about and debate. It was an all out cultural reclamation. Of course, the military would be present, ready to put down riots or to protect the various actors on the stage. They did not expect this to happen over night or without the current leaders fighting back.
But it would happen. Gradually, over decades, the DV would be remade. Men like Hasan would never find a fertile soil in which to sow their seed again. Marcus was reminded of the McWorld theory he had learned about in school. The idea went that no two countries that had a McDonalds had ever gone to war. It was sort of a joke observation, except that it spoke of a deeper truth. For a nation to get to a point to have a McDonalds, its culture and they way it viewed itself and consumed food had to get to a certain point. So two nations that got to that point were not in the habit of resorting to violence or war when there was a difficulty. What they were trying to do, he thought wryley, was McWorld the DV. And from what he saw, it would work. He believed it would.
It was nearing the end of the day. It had been productive and everyone was excited with the direction things were going. There were a myriad of things to do, but they hammered out a basic outline of their strategy. Marcus stood, taking his jacket from his chair. He looked around the room and nodded his head. This was going to be very interesting. His mind drifted to what he should do for the evening. Without his Force studies, he suddenly had more time. He had to hit the gym. But after that, he wasn't sure.
Edited by Marcus DuBois, Jul 14 2014, 04:52 PM.
- the dark man stood. He was rotund with refined Arabic features.- “Dr. Yoruc Asena, Professor of History at the Lomonosov Moscow University. His area of focus is the Ottoman Empire, which reigned as de facto leader of the Islamic world from the 15th to 19th centuries. After consultation with Dr. Asena, I have decided it is that specific era and cultural climate which will form the bedrock for our new DV.”
Everyone looked at Asena. This was ambitious. They were nation building, but in a very comprehensive manner. This was far more than government restructuring and economic programs married with military enforcement- all of which was very important. They were embarking on a project to change the way people thought. It was at once more subtle and much more far reaching. But it could be done.
“The other person with us Dr. Yasmina Qadir, a member of the Progressive School of Islam and an expert in gender studies in the Quran and in Islamic culture. Ladies and Gentlemen, the motivators for change must come from within the culture of the DV. Mothers and grandmothers are tired of seeing the suffering and deaths of their children and husbands, of fathers and brothers and uncles. There has been an increasingly vocal feminist movement among the Islamic nations for decades. We think it is time to unite those voices and use them as an instrument of change.”
Marcus looked at Dr. Qadir. Now her clothing made sense. She walked that line. Cultural pride and refusing to be seen only as a sexual object. But also refusing to cover her head to accept a subservient role. Her sharp gold eyes held years of suffering and fighting a deeply ingrained cultural patriarchy that had dominated Islam for so many years. It could not have been easy for her to hear them so casually talk about changing her society at such a fundamental level, no matter how terrible some of the injustices were. Then again, honor killings, the illegal but still prevalent practice of child brides, female genital mutilation, sexual slavery, and the glacial advancement of even the most basic of women's rights could force someone to seek out any ally they could find.
As if reading his thoughts, Bykov went on. “I want to make this as clear as possible. Ascendancy has no wish to obliterate the unique beauty and culture that we might refer to as Islamic. He has no interest in creating a carbon copy of Moscow or Paris or any other city or Dominance. This is NOT a culture war! But what must end is the chaos that thrives in the current culture where martyrs are worshiped, where any change is viewed as from the Devil. What must end is the sense of oppression and paranoia, and the resentment of more prosperous lands.”
Bykov stopped and looked at Dr. Qadir and Dr.Asena. He nodded to them. For them to be a part of this, they had to believe it was in the best interests of their people. His voice became lyrical, his cadence rhythmic. “The people of DV will learn to view themselves as part of a tradition that goes back centuries, that it is their true heritage, their birthright. It is the true gift of Islam to the world. It is the culture of the Turkish Sultans presiding over a thriving empire; of Saladin at Jerusalem treating the Crusading invaders with honor; of al-Mansur translating the vast amounts of world literature into Arabic, preserving them through the dark ages; of al-Kwarizmi and his gifts of the Hindu numeral system that all the world uses today, of al-jabr, algorithm, zenith and zero, of astronomy and geography”
His voice rose. “It is a culture that is rich in history and philosophy, of poetry, art and music, of tolerance and understanding.”
His voice became angry, indignant. “And it was stolen from them! Hijacked by the Wahhabist School of Islam, which has presented itself to the world as the face of Islam for the last hundred years and more.”
His voice became hard. “We will restore to the DV their rightful place in the world. We will give them back the history of themselves.”
He looked at each of them. “Each of you has a role to play in this. Everyone. This will be a difficult work. But I have the utmost confidence in you. We will succeed. The DV will thrive once again.”
It was difficult not to get swept along. Bykov did not use Force tricks or seem to use subtle voice manipulation. He spoke facts and he spoke them passionately. He had a knack for rhythm, certainly, as well as an ability to lead his listeners along with alliteration and rhetoric. But there seemed nothing phony about it. Marcus found himself very much interested in participating in the project, in adding what he could. Order. It was all about order.
Bykov then got down to details. Beginning with Press Affairs, he began outlining their strategy. Each department would play a contributing role. Even something as frivolous seeming as pop culture would play a huge role. People spent the majority of their time immersed in it, nearly from infancy. That tool would be consciously leveraged in a specific direction. Constructing a new cultural psyche that viewed itself as the heirs of the Ottoman Sultanate would require new heroes. Movies would lionize these cultural icons and events from the past, emphasizing their honor and courage and wisdom. Television would portray modern families dealing with modern life, dramas and comedies to break down prejudices and barriers, though deeply rooted in the bedrock of their faith. Documentaries and educational programs would reintroduce the history and world view that had been lost. Music would reflect this new-found optimism and historical pride, while at the same time reflecting the honest feelings of the listeners.
Then too, would there need to be a large number of DV celebrities and role models to be set up, people the youth could look up to and aspire to be. Reality based TV would give people laughter and optimism, a feeling they were part of and sharing with the global community. Elouera Galloway would spearhead special events designed to give the Islamic youth a voice in their entertainment, a sense that they were being respected, as well as expose them to alternative views, finally blunting the sharp edge of extremism. Debates would be held in many venues, large and small, pitting the relatively infantile- both in terms of age as well as attitude- Wahhabist School against a progressive Islam based on centuries of established history. The Quran would be discussed, no longer allowed to be the appropriated as the clothing with which patriarchy and oppression clothed itself. Dr. Qadir would spearhead outreach groups to unite the Islamic feminist movement, to give them a voice and sense of solidarity, to stigmatize the culture of death that had existed for so long.
And with all that, along with economic programs and a rebuilt infrastructure carried out by other Consulates, there would be a flooding of wallets and other media devices to the point that they were ubiquitous. The people of the dominance would find this new culture everywhere, new things and people to be excited about, new ideas and perspectives to talk about and debate. It was an all out cultural reclamation. Of course, the military would be present, ready to put down riots or to protect the various actors on the stage. They did not expect this to happen over night or without the current leaders fighting back.
But it would happen. Gradually, over decades, the DV would be remade. Men like Hasan would never find a fertile soil in which to sow their seed again. Marcus was reminded of the McWorld theory he had learned about in school. The idea went that no two countries that had a McDonalds had ever gone to war. It was sort of a joke observation, except that it spoke of a deeper truth. For a nation to get to a point to have a McDonalds, its culture and they way it viewed itself and consumed food had to get to a certain point. So two nations that got to that point were not in the habit of resorting to violence or war when there was a difficulty. What they were trying to do, he thought wryley, was McWorld the DV. And from what he saw, it would work. He believed it would.
It was nearing the end of the day. It had been productive and everyone was excited with the direction things were going. There were a myriad of things to do, but they hammered out a basic outline of their strategy. Marcus stood, taking his jacket from his chair. He looked around the room and nodded his head. This was going to be very interesting. His mind drifted to what he should do for the evening. Without his Force studies, he suddenly had more time. He had to hit the gym. But after that, he wasn't sure.
Edited by Marcus DuBois, Jul 14 2014, 04:52 PM.