Word: preacher
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...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...
...lines from a famous love song, dropping low to an intimate whisper the next, and then suddenly soaring, cracking with emotion to a near shout. All the while, his free hand is waving, gesturing, pointing and then is clasped to his chest in rapture. Indonesia's favorite preacher breaks into a bawdy grin as he jokes about the challenges facing Muslim men with more than one wife. His eyes become grave and confiding as he talks about his own family. His face constricts with emotion for his finale, as he beseeches Allah to bring together Indonesia's bickering leaders...
...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...