Word: preacher
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...election of President Pervez Musharraf's candidate for Prime Minister of Pakistan is a big victory for Musharraf, and for U.S. efforts to retain Pakistan's support in the war against terror. Zafarullah Khan Jamali, 58, a tribal chieftain from Baluchistan, narrowly defeated his closest rival, a pro-Taliban preacher. But his slim, one-vote majority reeked of political bullying and dealmaking. It was an arrangement rigged outside Parliament, struck in lengthy telephone calls to an exiled politician hoping for a comeback and, a losing candidate claims, tainted by bribes and threats...
...People's Party (PPP), living in exile in London. Apparently out of spite against the President, Bhutto was prepared to cast aside her moderate, pro-Western views and tell her PPP to back the candidate of the alliance of Islamic parties for Prime Minister, Maulana Fazlur Rehman?a firebrand preacher who wants the U.S. forces kicked out of Pakistani military bases. Having Rehman as Prime Minister would have been tough to explain to Washington, so Musharraf moved fast. His political fixers tried to rope in Bhutto by agreeing to drop corruption charges against her and her jailed husband, Asif...
...women and men are openly weeping, and the roar of applause continues long after the TV cameras have been switched off. When he plunges into a crowd after a performance, there are always eager hands thrust out reaching for him, some fans even bowing down and kissing the preacher's hand, whispering a name to be remembered in his prayers. And always there are scores of squealing teenage girls hovering on the sidelines, a few of the braver ones occasionally darting forward to get the great man's autograph, then retreating in a flurry of giggles and a swirl...
...many Indonesians, Aa Gym's rising prominence makes it almost inevitable that he will take on a greater role in the public life of the country. That in turn would mean stepping down from his pulpit and dirtying his hands in politics, something the preacher has so far shown a deep reluctance to do. An advocate of tolerance and forgiveness, Aa Gym is one of the only Muslim leaders in Indonesia to have publicly spoken at a Christian church. In late September, he attended a reconciliation ceremony held near Poso in Central Sulawesi, where thousands have died in recent years...
...sharp divide, and one that Aa Gym and his aides are uncomfortably aware of. Although the preacher clearly enjoys the toys he can now afford?the publishing business alone brings in $130,000 a month, aides say?Aa Gym insists that his flying lessons, the $2,000 DVD player installed in one of his cars and, yes, even the glistening Kawasaki Eliminator are simply utilitarian. "I have enough money to buy anything I want, that Lexus for example," he says, pointing to a black model with smoked-glass windows. "But I don't. The van is more practical...