A Stitch in Haste

It's been too long since we checked in on our friend, Turkmenistan President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov:

Saparmurat Niyazov announced on state television that anyone reading his philosophical work three times would be assured a place in heaven.

"Anyone who reads the Rukhnama three times will find spiritual wealth, will become more intelligent, will recognise the divine being and will go straight to heaven," Niyazov said Monday.

The Turkmen leader said he had "called on Allah" while working on the two-volume book to ensure that enthusiastic readers would be given quicker access to heaven.
...
The Rukhnama, a collection of philosophical and religious writings, is compulsory reading for schoolchildren and government officials across the former Soviet republic in Central Asian.

Gee, sounds a bit like another "Allah is my co-author" zealot from a while back.

Surely acting like a modern-day Muhammed is some kind of Islamic abomination worthy of riots and fatwas and jihads, no? Shouldn't acting like the Prophet be more blasphemous than merely drawing a picture of him?

So why no outrage here? Maybe they think he's imitating Joseph Smith instead?

(Via Fark.)