Kafuristan

[Wardog]

Former Chief Commissar becomes General Secretary

Ahmad ibn Mohammad Harath,53 years old,lawyer,former Foreign Minister and Chief Commissar,and one of the founding members of the Red Horde,has managed to win Supreme Premier Kader and Justic Minister Nawal ibn Amir Muhammad,receiving 6 out of 12 votes from the members of the High Political Office.
His ascension to the position of General Secretary will be confirmed by the Commissar Councils next week.
His opponents received only 3 votes each.

[Wardog]

Harath steps down,announces that he will be running for Supreme Premier

In a late night session of the High Political Office of the Red Horde,General Secretary Ahmad ibn Mohammad Harath,announced that he is resigning from the General Secretary's post with immediate effect.
This announcement was met with surprisingly bad responses,mainly from his political rivals,as he is rumoured to be interested in running for Premiership,in the 3635 elections,as current Supreme Premier Kader is not allowed to run for another term as per the constitution.
No statement about this rumour has been made from Harath himself,though,no confirmation or denial.
The new candidates for the position of General Secretary are only 2,former Justice Minister Nawal ibn Amir Muhammad and Foreign Minister Hussain ibn Na'im Wasari.
The High Political Office has been given one week to consider the candidates,and vote for them.

[Reddy]

Sultan Khalid Crowned
A new era begins
June 2, 3651


Sultan Khalid I

Khalid ibn Ahmed al Razama, 65 has been crowned as Sultan of Kafuristan in a magnificent ceremony in the Green Mosque of the holy city of Helem. The longtime chief of the Razama tribe took over the crumbling government apparatus in the wake of the fall of the communist tyranny. The new Sultan, a man who never pulls his punches and is always crystal clear about his views and inclinations bluntly pronounced in an address to the nation that he would convert the nation from ‘wicked Artanian liberal democracy with all its nude photos, drugs and other evils to the long tested and proven Abadi monarchy.’

The Razamas are possibly the largest of the Kafuri tribes. Their domains in central Jerze'har have always been the bastion of strict Abadism and the clan has produced a disproportionate number of Grand Ayatollahs, ayatollahs and other clergymen. The Communists found Razama territories to be the hardest to master and they proved the strongest resistance to them, a resistance that was especially bitter after the Communists banned religion and enforced several socially liberal laws.

The new Sultan has already proved his legendary mettle by purging the civil service of communists and atheists in his first very Royal Decree (3450/01) long before his coronation (but following his acclamation as Sultan). He has appointed several of his brothers and sons to his Council of Ministers, placing loyalty far above competence. The Sultan has drawn into the massive reserve of powers and has granted himself to appoint his younger brother, Bandar, 63 as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister. The decision to follow the agnatic seniority law of succession was influenced by the Razama house law in which seniority always triumphs primogeniture. It is a sharp diversion from previous Kafuri monarchies who favoured the much stable law of agnatic primogeniture.


Crown Prince Bandar

The Sultan has 17 brothers, of whom only Bandar is his elder full brother, the rest being the sons of their father Ahmed’s four other wives and three concubines. Bandar has also been appointed to head the Defence Ministry, it is his task to rein in the unruly Kafuri generals who ousted the last Grand Emir Ameen III. Other key ministers are Princes Mansour and Muhammad, Finance and Interior Ministers. Both are the King’s sons by his second wife Asma bint Ameen. In total the Sultan himself has three wives, seven sons and nine daughters.

[Reddy]

Ahmad Mosque Construction Begins
December 5, 3652


A model of the Ahmad Mosque

Following the Sultan's Royal Decree 3652/01 the Infrastructure Ministry has begun gathering material, labor and funding for what is to be one of the largest mosques in Kafuristan and possibly in all of Terra. Only the 500,000 capacity Prophet's mosque in the holy city of Helem (Kafuristan) will bypass the 250,000 'monstrosity' planned for central al-Kasraj. It will reportedly cost 500 million LOD and should be finished by 3657.

While the Mosque has excited public opinion, it is the sultan's other order in the decree that has political tongues wagging. His decision to move into the Mosque once it is 'practical' has been interpreted by some as pointing to his intentions to declare himself Abadi Caliph. Religion historians point out that in the early days of the Ahmadi Caliphate, before decadence took over, the Caliphs resided in the Prophet's Mosque in Helem. This served an important if symbolic gesture of the Caliph's authority over both religious and secular affairs. Sultan Khalid certainly qualifies for the office on most grounds. He is a Seyyed (descendant of Prophet Ahmad) and rules the single most important Abadi nation, He also has authority of the Holy City of Helem and has approval of the religious leadership. His biggest issue is geography, there are too many Abadis not under his authority, living in countries like Barmenia, Badara and Jakania.

Sultan Khalid To Brme Ahmadis: Overthrow The Cats!


Sultan Khalid and his Brme guests

Sultan Khalid has called on Brme Ahmadis who currently form a plurality in Barmenia to end the 'rule of the wicked cats.' The Sultan said Kafuristan would be prepared to fund anyone, whatever his methods, who would try to overthrow the Cats. In an address to a conference of Brme Ahmadis in the city, the Sultan said.

Words cannot fully describe the pain that is watching cat worshipers rule the land in which Prophet Ahmad was born. It is just devastating to we as Ahmadis to watch such travesties. Akim placed animals below humans for a reason. to worship them is to indulge in the basest of practices and the morality of the Cat King hows, his wish to marry his own sister is an indicator of how degenerate the Cat worshippers are. We will not tolerate this in Kafuristan and have issued a decree offering any Felinists in the Sultanate an opportunity to convert to the true faith, leave the Sultanate or be converted against their corrupted will. We shall tolerate no such things here.

The Sultan's statements were received with much dread in the small Felinist community in Kafuristan, Around 120,000 Felinists live in Kafuristan, especially in the larger cities. Previous governments have tended to tolerate them or at worst ignore them entirely. The feared Mutaween (religious police) have been charged with enforcing the Sultan's decree on suppressing Felinism and having long hungered for confrontation with the Felinists, their heart's desire has been granted.

[Reddy]

Caliph Khalid
Kafuri Sultan claim Controversial Title
July 3, 3653


Guests at the installation ceremony

Kafuri Sultan Khalid al Razama was formally consecrated as Caliph at the Prophet’s Mosque in the holy city of Helem. An estimated 1.7 million Kafuris attended the ceremony, with some half a million squeezing into the Mosque itself, the rest following proceedings outside. The new Caliph who has spent the past few months focusing on improving his religious knowledge, led the evening prayer (as will be his privilege/duty from now on, on each Friday and any other time) following formal election by a Shura composed of religious leaders and tribal Sheikhs.

The Caliph considers his authority to fall on all Abadi sect Ahmadis ‘wherever they be.’ although he has formally claimed authority over all Ahmadis. Millions of Abadi are found all over Majatra and Terra, their great concentration being in Kafuristan itself and neighbours Badara, Barmenia and Jakania. The Caliph thus claims both temporal and spiritual authority but pragmatically he called on Ahmadis outside Kafuristan to render only spiritual authority to him. It is highly unlikely that many Queranz sect members will follow him.

With this move, Khalid ibn Ahmed has consolidated power over Kafuris in a manner unseen in centuries. He has full authority over life, death and limb. Cushioned by fast growing reserves (52 billion LOD) his Government has poured billions into social welfare and has maintained many popular social programs begun the Communists. The Felinist purge pleased Abadi hardliners/conservatives and as the new Caliphate arises, the new Caliph has his nation largely united behind him.

[Reddy]

Riots Rock Kafuristan
Hundreds Of Thousands Protest Slavery Reforms
November 1, 3656


Protesters in central al-Kasraj

The Caliph’s decision to suspend the Anti-Slavery Treaty has indirectly led to the greatest public protests in several decades. The protests followed the posting of a fake ‘Royal Decree’ on the popular social website FacePage. The fake decree called ‘Royal Decree 3656/01 proclaimed all Kafuris to be personal slaves of the Caliph and ordered them to contribute forty hours of unpaid labour to public works projects. The fake Decree was posted by a human rights organization ‘Democracy In Kafuristan’ and had the desired effect. An hour after posting, 10,000 Kafuris poured out into city streets all over the Caliphate. Twelve hours later, it was a hundred thousand and now three days later, an estimated 700,000 are protesting. The attempts of the Caliphal government to set the record straight have been rejected and violent rioting has gripped the greater cities.

The cause of the continuing protests remains changing each day and several issues are sparking new protests each day. Nepotism, corruption and the hated Mutaween (religious police) have fast become hot issues. The Mutaween’s raid on a restaurant in south al-Kasraj on February 14 to ‘combat Valentine’s Day decadence’ resulted in a clash between the officers and restaurant patrons armed with forks and knives leading to a bloodbath. 7 patrons and 2 Mutaween officers were reported to have died while scores more were injured.

The Caliph and his ministers are in a tight spot. The Kafuri Army, a bastion of secularism and liberalism has resisted suppressing the protests, indeed it is reported that several junior officers are taking part in the protests all over the country. The Mutaween, although fiercely loyal to the Caliph are too undisciplined to bring order as the events on Valentine’s Day clearly show. They are a ragtag force composed of religious mystics, pardoned criminals, zealous volunteers and at times curious onlookers. The Caliph has no likeminded foreign friends to land a hand. It appears even Razamid prices have lost faith, a lot of banking activity has been reported with Princes apparently shifting their wealth to tax havens before the inevitable happens.

[Reddy]

Enraged Protesters Occupy Ahmad Mosque
...as Caliph Issues Controversial Decree
November 11, 3656

Caliph Khalid's attempt to quell the protests through his lawmaking power has backfired spectacularly. The Caliph's latest Decree 3656/01 threatened to declare all protestors apostate which under Ahmadi law would permit the Caliph to declare thier blood to be halal (permissible) to be shed. The Caliph's unorthodox interpretation of apostasy enraged the protesters and around 12,000 of them decided to take the protest to him and have surrounded the Caliph's unfinished building project and home the Ahmad Mosque in al-Kasraj.

The general situation remains very bad for the Razamids. The Army is still dragging its feet, citing 'equipment and manpower shortage'. At least three senior Princes are thought to have fled the Caliphate. Even the Mutaween (religious police) appear to have lost their nerve as the number of protesters remains high. With the surrounding of the Ahmad Mosque, the Caliph is believed to be still trapped inside while some say he has already fled the Caliphate.

[Reddy]

The Storm Is Over
Order restored as Army Charges On Protesters
November 21, 3656

The shops have stopped burning. They are no more angry voices on the streets of al-Kasraj. All is it ever was. The return of civil order in Kafuristan follows the dramatic confrontation between protesters and the Kafuri Army at the Ahmad Mosque. Order has returned at great cost, yet it has returned

For ten days the furious protesters had surrounded the Ahmad Mosque, official home of the Caliph. It was almost over for the Razamid Caliphate. The Kafuri Army refused to intervene, giving all sort of lame reasons. The military chiefs saw no reason to save a Caliphate that gave them little or no influence and a ruling class that clearly looked down on the top brass. They finally had all reason when Crown Prince Bandar, who was on a diplomatic mission in Solentia returned home. A former military man himself, the Crown Prince hashed out a deal with leading officers in the Army. He was observed entering the military HQ in al-Kasraj several times but the details of his dealings remain classified. A man of the Army himself, Crown Prince Bandar was clearly able to persuade the military leadership that there was no reason why both the Caliph and the Army could not co-exist and prosper at the same time.


Kafuri soldiers

Suddenly after the secretive Razamid-military conferences, tanks and thousands of soldiers appeared out of nowhere outside the Mosque. They fired as the protesters fled and fired on long after the screams ended but took care not to fire on the Mosque itself. Hundreds of the wiser protesters forced their way into the Mosque and pleaded sanctuary and were thus saved. When the dust cleared, an estimated 700 protesters were dead while as many as 2,500 were injured.

The leadership of the Army that saved the Caliphate then entered the Caliph’s chambers. It was the Crown Prince, Army Chief of Staff Ali al-Miyatah and his deputy Umar al-Nouri. The protesters hearing of the events a the Ahmad Mosque lost their nerve and city centres across the Caliphate which had been turned into mini war zones turned into ghost towns. The Razamids have survived but at the cost of allowing the all powerful and interventionist military officers a say in the running, violently ripping to shreds the myth of absolute Razamid rule.

[Reddy]

Brother Follows Brother
Bandar Chosen as Caliph
June 17, 3658


Caliph Bandar

Bandar ibn Ahmed, Crown Prince, Qatib (Chief Secretary) and Defence Minister since 3650 has been approved as the Razamid Caliphate. The 70 year old follows his elder brother, Khalid I who died after a stroke last Thursday, at the age of 73 after a reign of five years as Caliph and three as Sultan earlier on.. In an elaborate ceremony all 254 Razamid Princes from four year old Ameen to the new Sultan’s 68 year old heir Muhammad swore allegiance to the new Caliph, along with senior religious leaders and high ranking members of the military. this came after a formal election by the Shura (Advisory Council)

The new Caliph is supposedly more pragmatic than his brother, both socially and economically. He has made few changes to the Council of Ministers other than appoint the top two military leaders to the Defence and Technology Minister and another two as Deputy Ministers. The new Caliph, a quiet military man with three wives and 9 children gained renown and his brother’s full confidence after he brokered a deal with the Kafuri army to end the Crisis of 3656. He has an extensive administrative CV having served as Number 2 for the past 8 years and before that was Chief of staff to his brother’s Sheikh days.

[Reddy]

Crown Prince Muhammad Dies
Foreign Minister Prince Mukrin Nominated As New Heir
May 13, 3660


Crown Prince Mukrin ibn Ahmed

The Caliphate is in mourning once again. Caliph Bandar's brother and nominated heir, Crown Prince Muhammad has died following a short illness. The 70 year old longtime Interior Minister was nominated as heir in 3658 following Bandar's accession to the post of Caliph. While considered a largely ineffective Minister, the Prince's cheerful personality earned him friendship from all factions. He is survived by two wives and three sons. His successor was heir is Prince Mukrin, another long serving Minister (Foreign). Mukrin is the son of Sheikh Ahmed by an Istalian concubine and the eldest of his 13 surviving sons. The 68 year old is viewed as an ambitious Minister and his continuous attempts to end the isolationist policies of the Caliphate have been resisted by the Council of Ministers. The Caliph however favours greater external engagements and supported the recent negotiations with both Solentia and Jakania.

The tragedy necessitated a minor Cabinet reshuffle which saw the Governor of Nekkah Prince Saif enter national government as Interior Minister. 65 year old Saif is third in line to the throne but is considered amongst the ablest if reactionary of the first generation Princes. He has long imposed iron law and order in Nekkah and the province saw little disorder during the 3656 protests.


Communist-Plebeian Victory Spooks Kafuri Elites

The Caliphate's wealithiest and most powerful have looked on with alarm at events in Selucia which saw a Communist-Plebeian alliance winning a landslide in the latest Senate elections. The Kafuri elite, consisting of Princes, business tycoons and tribal Sheikhs has traditionally favoured storing its cash in the tight lipped Selucian banks and several months ago, a Kafuri government report stated that it was estimated that as much as 3 billion LOD in total was stashed away in the north Majatran nation's banks. The recent government forms which saw a sharp reduction of taxes had slowed the flow but with the left in power, the Bank Secret Act is not expected to survive by many Kafuris although some view this as overreaction. Still, as much as 360 million LOD is thought to have been withdrawn in the past three months. Much of it is expected to be headed to other tax shelters such as Keymon.

Politically as well, the Government is keeping a close eye on events in Selucia. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Khalid ibn Faisal was ridiculed by many after being recorded saying 'We can't be sure that this isn't one of the revitalised Zardugal's first moves across Majatra.' He lost his job hours later with the Caliph describing him as 'unbearably foolish'