Why are there no anti-Borat riots in Kazakhstan?

The New York Times' Steven Lee Myers looks at a question that I've wondered about from time to time -- what do the people of Kazakhstan think about Borat? The answer appears to be surprisingly liberal: There is no Running of the Jews here. No one greets you with the expression ?Jagshemash,? which is either nonsense, garbled Polish or mangled Czech; it?s hard to say. The country?s national drink is not made from horse urine, though fermented horse milk, or kumys, is considered a delicacy. (It tastes like effervescent yogurt.) There is almost nothing, in short, remotely truthful in the satiric depiction of Kazakhstan popularized by Sacha Baron Cohen, the British comedian who plays a bumbling, boorish, anti-Semitic, homophobic and misogynistic Kazakh television reporter named Borat Sagdiyev. And yet Borat ? Mr. Cohen, that is ? has managed to infuriate and confound the country?s officials. Their attempts to respond, to set the record straight, have resulted only in more attention here, where Borat?s antics, shown on British and American television and on the Internet, now make the rounds like samizdat from the long-gone days when the country was part of the Soviet Union.... ?There is an unwritten rule that the president?s personality is never criticized,? said Baryz Bayen, a correspondent and editor for TV 31, a privately owned channel in Almaty. Last fall Mr. Bayen prepared a six-minute feature on the controversy over Mr. Cohen?s MTV performance that included clips of the skit depicting Mr. Nazarbayev, borrowed from Russia?s NTV channel. Mr. Bayen cited a history of political satire dating to Moli?re and recalled an old refrain from Soviet times: ?I have never read Solzhenitsyn, but I condemn him absolutely.? ?I do not feel any false patriotism,? said Mr. Bayen, who, like all ethnic Kazakhs, bears no resemblance to Borat whatsoever. ?I saw portions of his show, and I can say it is funny.? TV 31?s executive producer, Yevgeny Grundberg, said he hoped to send a correspondent to interview Mr. Cohen in character, reversing the roles in Borat?s acts, where his mock interviews have duped some subjects. So far, though, Mr. Cohen has not responded to his offer. He said Mr. Cohen?s satire was hyperbolic at best and wildly off the mark at worst but nonetheless served as an antidote to the articles and broadcasts that appear in official state media, where Kazakhstan is forever harmonious and prosperous. ?Most people take it normally,? he said, noting that those who have seen Borat remain a minority with access to the Internet or satellite television, where ?Da Ali G Show? appears on Russian MTV, which is on cable television here. ?The nation has changed enough for that.? It is interesting that this Muslim country can take Borat with a grain of salt, whereas other jibes at Middle Eastern values provoke a more... frenzied response. [Borat does not poke fun at Islam, whereas Mohammed cartoons do. You're comparing apples and oranges!!--ed. Maybe... except that nationalism can provoke just as much passion as religion, so I think the similarities are more important than the differences.] Oh, and you can see the trailer for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan by clicking here. As for Borat's reaction to the Kazakh government's denunciations, click here.