The most just Superpower (relatively)

[coffee_rules]

48 minutes ago, MechEng said:

 

No, that post implies how muslim countries under American influence turn out to be in the long term - middle eastern nations like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria. This compared to central asian muslim countries under Soviets, that although are still developing but have not devolved into a complete basket case of countries. Azerbaijan can be excused due to their hostility against Armenia, but other than that all the stans such as Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen are muslims but take pride in their Soviet and Persian heritage without being thekedars of Islam.

 

 

I don't think Wahabism or radical Islamic ideologies have reached the older Soviet Islamic countries you mention. But, Russian territories like Chenchnya/Dagestan have had such Islamic fundamentalism issues and are as regressive as other countries in the ME.

[MechEng]

6 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

 

 

I don't think Wahabism or radical Islamic ideologies have reached the older Soviet Islamic countries you mention. But, Russian territories like Chenchnya/Dagestan have had such Islamic fundamentalism issues and are as regressive as other countries in the ME.

 

Wahabi and radical ideologies did not necessarily create jihadis. Suicide bombing was an unknown concept until the Soviet Afghan war, Americans took inspiration from kamikaze during Pearl Harbour and applied the same.

 

As @Gollum mentioned, almost all Islamic invasion of India happened from countries that later became a part of the Soviet bloc (except Afghanistan). Yet today you can see how relatively chill/moderate they are compared to Pakistanis.

[Gollum]

7 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

 

 

I don't think Wahabism or radical Islamic ideologies have reached the older Soviet Islamic countries you mention. But, Russian territories like Chenchnya/Dagestan have had such Islamic fundamentalism issues and are as regressive as other countries in the ME.

Chechnya, Dagestan insurgency/radicalism funded by NATO countries, especially USA in 90s, Saudis too responsible. Happened post Soviet breakup when it was vulnerable. Before that, these areas weren't troublemakers, well integrated with USSR. 

 

USA remains the root cause of most conflicts and unrest across the world. Of late I think, even hardcore Chechen nationalists have realized how they were used as pawns by the West to get back at Russia. 

[Gollum]

9 hours ago, MechEng said:

 

No, that post implies how muslim countries under American influence turn out to be in the long term - middle eastern nations like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria. This compared to central asian muslim countries under Soviets, that although are still developing but have not devolved into a complete basket case of countries. Azerbaijan can be excused due to their hostility against Armenia, but other than that all the stans such as Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen are muslims but take pride in their Soviet and Persian heritage without being thekedars of Islam.

I judge a society/country by how it treats its women. These Central Asian 'stans' may not have real democracy (again, overrated), but I once checked their (female) labour force participation, education (not just adult literacy but how many have completed secondary education, have university degrees etc.), maternal mortality rate, house/business ownership, and they were way better than India. In some metrics they can even give some European and East Asian countries a run for their money. Their governments (local/federal) have 30-40% reservation for women, with calls to increase it to 50%.  No discriminatory dress code either, in fact there are strict bans on hijab (and long beards) in some of these countries. 

 

Moreover as per their constitutions, they are secular states. Malaysia, Indonesia don't have a mention of secularism (forget Arab world or South Asia), even a mention of that word can trigger civil war in other Muslim countries. 

 

Even rabid Russophobes can't deny Soviet influence rubbing off on these countries. Unfortunately, Western propaganda is too potent, as India is also finding out now. 

Edited June 12, 2025 by Gollum

[MechEng]

40 minutes ago, Gollum said:

I judge a society/country by how it treats its women. These Central Asian 'stans' may not have real democracy (again, overrated), but I once checked their (female) labour force participation, education (not just adult literacy but how many have completed secondary education, have university degrees etc.), maternal mortality rate, house/business ownership, and they were way better than India. In some metrics they can even give some European and East Asian countries a run for their money. Their governments (local/federal) have 30-40% reservation for women, with calls to increase it to 50%.  No discriminatory dress code either, in fact there are strict bans on hijab (and long beards) in some of these countries. 

 

Moreover as per their constitutions, they are secular states. Malaysia, Indonesia don't have a mention of secularism (forget Arab world or South Asia), even a mention of that word can trigger civil war in other Muslim countries. 

 

Even rabid Russophobes can't deny Soviet influence rubbing off on these countries. Unfortunately, Western propaganda is too potent, as India is also finding out now. 

 

As a kid growing up in the 1990s, I was brainwashed into believing that communism is evil, that red flag with hammer and sickle means terror.

 

Then I lived in the US for quite some time and also visited a couple of Soviet bloc countries for holidays, and I can conclude that Americans are a paranoid bunch in real life by making a mountain out of the molehill.