It also notes that in Saudi Arabia, "women are not permitted to drive cars, don't have voting rights (more enlightened rules come into effect in 2015), and cope with a whole regime of draconian, religious laws that circumscribe all aspects of their lives".
In the 60s, Germany had the most enlightened rules for refugees and asylum seekers in Europe; the US passed the most sensible laws on immigration in its history; France granted automatic citizenship to all those born on its territory, including all Muslims.
With so much attention focused on Islamic extremism, now seems an apt time for a movie about Akbar, the 16th-century Muslim emperor in India, whose legacy is one of enlightened rule and almost radical religious tolerance.
"The Insider" (Viking India), a novel by a former prime minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, makes it clear that self-seeking and venality were the order of the day in Indian politics right from the first days of Pandit Nehru's enlightened rule.
If China's rule was not enlightened, then it was, at least, effective and sustainable.
Not long before that, at a banquet attended by former fighters of the War of Independence, such as Kountouriotis, Kolokotronis and others, Makriyannis had toasted the health of the royal couple, adding "may God enlighten them to rule us through constitutional laws, in accordance with the fatherland's sacrifices".
On shows ranging from Jane Campion's "Top of the Lake" to Mike White's "Enlightened" and Brian Fuller's "Hannibal," creators have been breaking the rules of what TV is "supposed" to look like.
They see enlightened self-interest in giving a greater role to the rule of law, and reforming the criminal code to offer due-process rights that resemble international norms is a key part of this effort.
Old-timers wander its dilapidated courtyards, gazing perhaps for the last time at the lattice balconies that recall the age when caliphs ruled and Iraq was arguably the world's most enlightened polity.
Nor was it because it enjoyed enlightened governance in the 1800's, like open and free markets and clear-cut rules about property ownership.
His rule of the Capitol was widely considered a glaring example of why democracy was in fact mob rule, the ultimately scary and untenable 19th-century daydream of some "enlightened" crackpot.
