Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, probably other nations, had the beginnings of quite modern societies. You can find pictures of beautiful women wearing nice outfits, lounging in public the way anyone would in NYC or Los Angeles. Then the fundamentalists came surging through and these countries have, at least socially, been drifting back to a Dark Age mentality. Very sad.
Yes it is sad.
I have looked up photos of Iran in the early 70’s. It looked like any western nation. The men and women would have looked at home in NYC, London or Paris.
I agree with Winston Churchill that islam is the cruelest thing ever foisted upon mankind.
Back in the 60’s I loved to visit Beirut; to me, it was a beautiful cosmopolitan city, rivaling anything that Europe has.
Now, it’s a refugee camp. Shame.