简介：Whyaresomeoftheworld'sbiggestinternationalcompaniestranslatinganabsurdforeign bookintotheirownlanguage,tryingtohidetheiraimsandavoiddiscussionaboutthehuman rightsandfreedomofspeechsituationinTurkmenistan? ShadowOfTheHolyBookinvestigatesthemoralityofinternationalcompaniesandthedictatorship ofoil-and-gas-richTurkmenistan.Thesecompanieshelpgivethedictatorshipthepropagandasupport thatitneedstosurvive.Turkmenistan’sdictator,SaparmuratNiyazov,haswrittenaludicrous book:theRuhnama,theBookoftheSoul,akeytoolinthegovernment’ssubjugationofhuman rightsandfreespeech.Yetmanyinternationalcompaniesgivetheirclandestinesupporttothe Ruhnamaandhelpsuppressthecountry’svoicesofoppositionanddissidence–inreturnformultimillion- dollarbusinessdeals. Thefilmfollowslawyer/authorKevinFrazierandfilmdirectorArtoHalonenastheytravelfromEurope toTurkmenistan,andallthewaytotheUnitedStates.Thefilmmakersareinsearchofcompanies operatinginTurkmenistan,particularlythecompaniesthathavetranslatedtheRuhnama booksintotheirownlanguages,andthussupportedTurkmenistan'sdictatorshipinthemostabsurd waypossible. ThefilmalsoreflectsthecurrentsituationinTurkmenistan,theimpactoftheRuhnamabook,and theethicsofthecompaniesoperatingthere.Thisisdonethroughthedissidentsandrefugees, manyofwhomhavebeenthetargetsofpersecution,torture,andassassinationattemptsorganised bytheTurkmenistangovernment. Turkmenistanhassomeofthebiggestoil-and-gasreservesintheworld,andthishasincreased thegreedandruthlessnessofcorporateactivitiesintheregion.Well-knowncompanieslikeDaimlerChrysler, Siemens,BouyguesandCaterpillarpraiseandsupporttheRuhnamabook,abookthat hasdestroyedtheeducationsystemandhasservedasthecenterpieceofthedictatorship.The filmmakerslookforcorporateresponsibility,andthecompaniesduckandhide–untilacoupleof businessexecutivesappearwhoarereadytotalkandtakeresponsibility. Thefilmisthestoryofadictatorship,andalsoofthetransitionfromoneleadertothenext.After thesuddendeathofSaparmuratNiyazov,thecreatoroftheRuhnamabook,powerhastransferred toGurbangulyBerdymuhammedovwhohas,onthesurface,madereformsbutintermsofviolations againstfreedomofspeechandhumanrightseverythinghasremainedthesame.Hehas alsopraisedtheRuhnama,andusedittoincreasehispower.Thereforeinternationalcorporations continuetousethesametechniquestopleasethenewleaderastheydidwithNiyazov.The shadowoftheholybookcontinuestostretchbeyondNiyazov’sgrave.…