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[OCC: This is a public poll to accompany the History of the World 7 diplogame. The poll will determine which leader I put in charge of my civ in the concluding sessions. Who is elected will determine what course I take and what strategy I take in the last part of the game. Yes, I am letting YOU decide.
Since I'm taking a big leap of faith here to turn over control of my civ (to an extent) I ask that before voting, you read over recent history in the HOTW7 thread, especially this post, and any posts in this thread.
Finally, NO VOTING TWICE WITH DLs. (I'm looking at you Deity).
]
Ok, In Character stuff now:
Arabia is at a cross roads. Important issues of domestic and international policy divide the country and cabinet members openly fight with each other in public. Only an election will decide the fate of this nation. This is the first election of a Sultan in Arab history. This is truly a historic moment.
Four candidates represent four major parties and divisions in the country. Information on the four candidates is below:
Suleiman “Kanuni” Ozman
Ottoman Party
The heir apparent to the late Sultan Mehmed II, he would have been Sultan had the people and Congress not demanded direct election of the Sultan. Suleiman supported the measure however, and despite being part of a long serving hereditary dynasty, Suleiman is the biggest supporter of democracy in this election.
Despite his impressive lineage, critics have pointed to his lack of national political experience. Early in life he was a goldsmith and poet . Only later was he persuaded by his grandfather, the Sultan, to accept the position of Governor of Jerusalem. While this position had no involvement in foreign affairs or national issues, Suleiman excelled at his new post and proved to be a competent administrator.
It was in Jerusalem, where he stayed until his ascendancy to national politics after being named heir to the throne, that Suleiman became proficient in matters of administrative affairs. Racked by banditry, Suleiman restored law and order to the province and in the process acquired the necessary legislative experience which would later see him named Kanuni, or the Law Giver. Suleiman proved adept at rooting out corruption, and reaching compromises between the province’s Jewish and Muslim populations.
Generally seen as the candidate of the status quo, Suleiman has not run from the often unpopular record of his grandfather and has instead become a passionate defender of the wisdom of peace, diplomacy, and friendship with all nations. In light of Bulgaria’s massive rearmament he has advocated focusing Arabia on peaceful pursuits like the space race instead of military objectives. This has angered both the military and the nation’s hard line. Suleiman supports the ban on nuclear weapons.
Suleiman is a devout Muslim, and while certainly a more liberal Muslim than other candidates in the race, he does not support the proposed “free religion” policy at the United Nations. He is a Sunni, but is believed to have some Sufi influences.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Islamic Society of Engineers
Ahmadinejad is both a populist man of the people and a technocrat. He grew up poor in rural Syria, but was exceptionally bright and excelled at school. Turning to science, he graduated with high honors from the University of Mecca and became a physicist. He was the lead scientist on the project that first split the atom and gave the world nuclear fission. His populist style quickly endeared him to the ruling elite and he was named to the cabinet. First in charge of the Nuclear Sciences division, and then to the Arabian Space, Science, Technology and Education Department.
Labeled a hardliner for his unwavering support for Arabia’s right to possess nuclear weapons and have a strong national defense against all potential threats, Ahmadinejad has expressed some support for increasing the rights of women - move that has angered powerful religious clerics in the country. He has been vocal in opposition to the United Nations, willfully thumbing his nose at their decisions and denouncing the world body for violating the sovereignty of nations. It is this philosophy more than a religious objection that leads him to renounce a UN mandate of free religion.
He has vowed to increase science spending and to more than triple the budget for ASSTE, the department controlling Arabia’s space exploration. He has attracted controversy to himself by calling the Roman genocide a hoax, and denouncing it as a propaganda campaign by the West to create hatred against the Muslim world.
Osama Bin Laden
Wahabist Party
Representing the nation’s hardline, religious community, Osama Bin Laden has attracted a great deal of support for his campaign by denouncing the corrupting influences of Western culture and the dangers a secular society poses to Islam.
Bin Laden, and his Wahabist Party support a return to the law of the Prophet and strict interpretation of the Qur’an. Wahhabis see their role as a movement to restore Islam from what they perceive to be innovations, superstitions, deviances, heresies and idolatries. Bin Laden seeks to restrict free speech, curtail the rights of women, and create a true Islamic state following Sharia law. Despite standing for this election, Bin Laden opposes democracy and has vowed to roll back direct election of Sultans and revive the Caliphate.
He was a strong supporter of England in the Anglo-Incan war, and is purported to have been personally involved with a guerilla campaign against the Inca during their incursions into English territory before the Second Anglo-Incan war. Bin Laden favors closer ties with the Kushren, Celts and English. By far the most militant of candidates, he believes tyrants that insult the Prophet and oppress Muslims should be beheaded for their crimes. He believes it is a duty of every Muslim to kill the infidel who oppresses the holy word of Islam. As the world’s largest religion, Islam should be the world’s official religion.
As Intelligence Director, Bin Laden has sent agents into Choson territory to determine the extent of the Choson forces that precipitated the recent Arab-Choson crisis. His defense of the nation during those dark days, his active support for England and his active opposition to the UN’s free religion proposal has earned him the nick-name, “lion of Islam”.
Saddam Hussein
Baath Party
Representing the hard left is the Department of Health Director, Saddam Hussein. He and the Baath party support Arab nationalism and the doctrine of socialism. He is a dark horse candidate and seen as unstable by many of the electorate.
He pays lip service to Islam, but he is fairly secular. He has received much criticism for not opposing the proposed United Nations free religion policy.
Hussein, the former governor of Baghdad, has fought for increased social welfare spending during his time in the cabinet has called for higher taxes. In addition to more social spending, Hussein favors increasing the military budget (a move that favors his base in the military industrial complex in Baghdad).
His foreign policy is not widely known, as he mostly focuses on domestic issues while campaigning, but he is believed to support a world Communist alliance against the forces of free trade and capitalism.
Since I'm taking a big leap of faith here to turn over control of my civ (to an extent) I ask that before voting, you read over recent history in the HOTW7 thread, especially this post, and any posts in this thread.
Finally, NO VOTING TWICE WITH DLs. (I'm looking at you Deity).
] Ok, In Character stuff now:
Arabia is at a cross roads. Important issues of domestic and international policy divide the country and cabinet members openly fight with each other in public. Only an election will decide the fate of this nation. This is the first election of a Sultan in Arab history. This is truly a historic moment.
Four candidates represent four major parties and divisions in the country. Information on the four candidates is below:
Suleiman “Kanuni” Ozman
Ottoman Party
The heir apparent to the late Sultan Mehmed II, he would have been Sultan had the people and Congress not demanded direct election of the Sultan. Suleiman supported the measure however, and despite being part of a long serving hereditary dynasty, Suleiman is the biggest supporter of democracy in this election.
Despite his impressive lineage, critics have pointed to his lack of national political experience. Early in life he was a goldsmith and poet . Only later was he persuaded by his grandfather, the Sultan, to accept the position of Governor of Jerusalem. While this position had no involvement in foreign affairs or national issues, Suleiman excelled at his new post and proved to be a competent administrator.
It was in Jerusalem, where he stayed until his ascendancy to national politics after being named heir to the throne, that Suleiman became proficient in matters of administrative affairs. Racked by banditry, Suleiman restored law and order to the province and in the process acquired the necessary legislative experience which would later see him named Kanuni, or the Law Giver. Suleiman proved adept at rooting out corruption, and reaching compromises between the province’s Jewish and Muslim populations.
Generally seen as the candidate of the status quo, Suleiman has not run from the often unpopular record of his grandfather and has instead become a passionate defender of the wisdom of peace, diplomacy, and friendship with all nations. In light of Bulgaria’s massive rearmament he has advocated focusing Arabia on peaceful pursuits like the space race instead of military objectives. This has angered both the military and the nation’s hard line. Suleiman supports the ban on nuclear weapons.
Suleiman is a devout Muslim, and while certainly a more liberal Muslim than other candidates in the race, he does not support the proposed “free religion” policy at the United Nations. He is a Sunni, but is believed to have some Sufi influences.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Islamic Society of Engineers
Ahmadinejad is both a populist man of the people and a technocrat. He grew up poor in rural Syria, but was exceptionally bright and excelled at school. Turning to science, he graduated with high honors from the University of Mecca and became a physicist. He was the lead scientist on the project that first split the atom and gave the world nuclear fission. His populist style quickly endeared him to the ruling elite and he was named to the cabinet. First in charge of the Nuclear Sciences division, and then to the Arabian Space, Science, Technology and Education Department.
Labeled a hardliner for his unwavering support for Arabia’s right to possess nuclear weapons and have a strong national defense against all potential threats, Ahmadinejad has expressed some support for increasing the rights of women - move that has angered powerful religious clerics in the country. He has been vocal in opposition to the United Nations, willfully thumbing his nose at their decisions and denouncing the world body for violating the sovereignty of nations. It is this philosophy more than a religious objection that leads him to renounce a UN mandate of free religion.
He has vowed to increase science spending and to more than triple the budget for ASSTE, the department controlling Arabia’s space exploration. He has attracted controversy to himself by calling the Roman genocide a hoax, and denouncing it as a propaganda campaign by the West to create hatred against the Muslim world.
Osama Bin Laden
Wahabist Party
Representing the nation’s hardline, religious community, Osama Bin Laden has attracted a great deal of support for his campaign by denouncing the corrupting influences of Western culture and the dangers a secular society poses to Islam.
Bin Laden, and his Wahabist Party support a return to the law of the Prophet and strict interpretation of the Qur’an. Wahhabis see their role as a movement to restore Islam from what they perceive to be innovations, superstitions, deviances, heresies and idolatries. Bin Laden seeks to restrict free speech, curtail the rights of women, and create a true Islamic state following Sharia law. Despite standing for this election, Bin Laden opposes democracy and has vowed to roll back direct election of Sultans and revive the Caliphate.
He was a strong supporter of England in the Anglo-Incan war, and is purported to have been personally involved with a guerilla campaign against the Inca during their incursions into English territory before the Second Anglo-Incan war. Bin Laden favors closer ties with the Kushren, Celts and English. By far the most militant of candidates, he believes tyrants that insult the Prophet and oppress Muslims should be beheaded for their crimes. He believes it is a duty of every Muslim to kill the infidel who oppresses the holy word of Islam. As the world’s largest religion, Islam should be the world’s official religion.
As Intelligence Director, Bin Laden has sent agents into Choson territory to determine the extent of the Choson forces that precipitated the recent Arab-Choson crisis. His defense of the nation during those dark days, his active support for England and his active opposition to the UN’s free religion proposal has earned him the nick-name, “lion of Islam”.
Saddam Hussein
Baath Party
Representing the hard left is the Department of Health Director, Saddam Hussein. He and the Baath party support Arab nationalism and the doctrine of socialism. He is a dark horse candidate and seen as unstable by many of the electorate.
He pays lip service to Islam, but he is fairly secular. He has received much criticism for not opposing the proposed United Nations free religion policy.
Hussein, the former governor of Baghdad, has fought for increased social welfare spending during his time in the cabinet has called for higher taxes. In addition to more social spending, Hussein favors increasing the military budget (a move that favors his base in the military industrial complex in Baghdad).
His foreign policy is not widely known, as he mostly focuses on domestic issues while campaigning, but he is believed to support a world Communist alliance against the forces of free trade and capitalism.
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