More rhetoric and reality -- why Khomenei and the Taliban goons banned chess in their regimes:
There are some cultures, like the Taliban and when Khomeni ruled Iran, where chess in all its nuances is just too much for them, and they literally ban it. I think they understand intuitively that it's a sign of this complex, nuanced way of thinking.
from the review of David Shenk's _The Immortal Game_at http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1163852289325&call_pageid=1105528093962&col=1105528093790
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