Taliban Oafdom: The Masses aren't Asses

In 1990s Afghanistan, the Taliban took over the city of Mazar and appointed an illiterate (natch!) man by the name of Mullah Shah Mohammad as the new mayor. Mullah Shah Mohammad ordered a new stamp to be created in his honor. But when Mullah Shah Mohammad saw his municipal stamp, he threw a fit and snarled, “Look at our big municipality, and look at that small stamp! Make a big one!”

The clerk returned to the engraver and informed him that the ignoramus new mayor wanted a big stamp for his big new municipality. In utter contempt, the engraver made a form from a donkey shoe, with this inscription inside:

“In a city ruled by asses,
Shah Mohammed is the undisputed mayor.”

This new “seal” was submitted to Shah Mohammed, who loved his “big” stamp, and had it placed on all official documents. Shah Mohammed did not have a clue about the insult until days later, when someone else pointed it out to him. Enraged, Shah Mohammed went to kill the engraver—but the man had already fled the town, and the documents bearing the donkey seal had already reached the governor’s desk!
[source: RAWA]