During the Cold War, what was the Soviet Union's attitude towards Islam and Muslim countries? In return, what then was the view of Muslim countries and Muslims towards the USSR and Communism?

by bluerobot27
GekkostatesOfAmerica

There are two main concepts that need to be addressed here. One is domestic Islam in the Soviet Union, and the other is international.

  1. Inside the Soviet Union

Domestically, The Soviet Union, which was made out of 15 republics, had 6 republics where the population was of Muslim-majority. Under different leaders, the Muslim population went through periods of relative-support and persecution. For example, when the Soviet Union was founded, Lenin and the Bolsheviks sought to retain all of the territory of the Russian Empire under the Tsars. This mean that the regions south of de jure Russia (such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc.), whose inhabitants religious following ran contradictory to the atheist-inspired teachings of Marx, were to be included. There were more minorities than just Muslims in the Union, and so to promote unity over persecution, the Bolsheviks devised the policy of Korenizatsiya. This is where, despite the minority's relative "backwardness", the populations were encouraged to follow a more socialist worldview, and those who did were elevated to positions of power inside their respective regions. In 1917, Lenin issued a declaration stating:

"Muslims of Russia…all you whose mosques and prayer houses have been destroyed, whose beliefs and customs have been trampled upon by the tsars and oppressors of Russia: your beliefs and practices, your national and cultural institutions are forever free and inviolate. Know that your rights, like those of all the peoples of Russia, are under the mighty protection of the revolution."

Following this idea, the individuals that Lenin elevated to positions of power during his administration in these regions were "Islamic-socialists".

Under Stalin, things changed. Going against the administrative practise of Korenizatsiya, Muslims in these regions were persecuted relentlessly. Mosques were torn down or turned into warehouses, the hijab was banned, and religious schools were closed in favour of state-schools. In addition, thousands of Muslims who refused to comply or spoke out against Stalin were sent to prison camps in Siberia. Notably, almost 200,000 Crimean Tatars (who were majority-Muslim) were deported from Crimea during 1943-1944, with the official excuse being that they supported Germans during the invasion in WWII or were just anti-Soviet.

After Stalin and the deconstructing of his cult of personality, while official Soviet policy forbade any religious worship, Korenizatsiya returned. All mosques, religious schools, and any religious publications were monitored by four "Spiritual Directorates" such as the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (the other directorates were for Siberia, Northern Caucasus and Dagestan, and Transcaucasia).

  1. Internationally

Outside the Soviet Union, most Muslim nations were part of the Third World, which at the beginning of the Cold War was commonly seen as the group of nations that didn't align with the Communist Bloc or NATO (see also, the Non-Aligned Movement). As such, both alliances attempted to exert their influence to try and win these nations to their side. I cannot find any sources that explain whether or not majority-Muslim nations looked at the Soviet Union unfavourably because of how they treated their own Muslim citizens.

What is definite is that, like the United States, the Soviet Union used their power to execute coups, exert their influence, and generally attempt to win over Third World-administrations to aid them either militarily or economically. Also like the United States, the Soviet Union didn't harbour any disdain for Muslim-majority nations because of their religion. If they saw an advantage to seeking the support of a nation, they sought it. Likewise, if they saw a Muslim nation that needed their support, they made sure that their support was available.

For example, in 1967 South Yemen gained independence from Great Britain, and the Soviet Union immediately recognized it as an independent state. As a result, South Yemen became a Communist state (the first and only one in the Middle East) and relied heavily in Soviet aid. They signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1979 and renewed it in 1984.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 there was wide international condemnation. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (sic) adopted a resolution demanding the withdrawal of troops, and when money started pouring into fund resistance movements, a large amount of it came from Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf. However these condemnations and resistance efforts were purely political, and there was no mention of the Soviets targeting Afghanistan or its inhabitants because of religious reasons.

Conclusion

While the Soviet Union had its share of domestic issues related to their Muslim-minority, their general views of Muslims around the world were similar to the United States and NATO. They seized the opportunity to show support when it benefitted them, and had relations with Muslim-majority nations throughout the 20th Century.

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