Islam in the Soviet Union

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The Soviet Union was a state comprised of fifteen communist republics which existed from 1922 till its dissolution into a a series of separate nation states in 1991. Of these fifteen republics, six had a Muslim majority, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.^[1] There was also a large Muslim presence in the Volga-Ural region and most of the population of North Caucasus of Russian federation were Muslims and a large number of Tatar Muslims lived in Siberia and other regions.^[1]

The policy of the Soviet Union toward the Islamic religion was affected, on the one hand, by the large Muslim population, its close ties to national cultures, and its tendency to accept Soviet authority and, on the other hand, by its susceptibility to foreign influence. Since the early 1920s, the Soviet regime, fearful of a pan-Islamic movement, sought to divide Soviet Muslims into smaller, separate entities. This separation was accomplished by creating six separate Muslim republics and by fostering the development of a separate culture and language in each of them. Although actively encouraging atheism, Soviet authorities permitted limited religious activity in all the Muslim republics.

Mosques functioned in most large cities of the Central Asian republics and the Azerbaijan Republic; however, their number decreased from 25,000 in 1917 to 500 in the 1970s. In 1989, as part of the general relaxation of restrictions on religions, some additional Muslim religious associations were registered, and some of the mosques that had been closed by the government were returned to Muslim communities. The government also announced plans to permit training of limited numbers of Muslim religious leaders in courses of two- and five-year duration in Ufa and Baku, respectively.

[edit] History

Unlike the Russian Orthodox Christian church, the Muslims of the Soviet Union originally encountered a larger degree of religious freedom under the new Bolshevik rule. Vladimir Lenin oversaw the return of religious artifacts, such as the Uthman Quran,^[2] the foundations of court systems using principles of Islamic law which ran alongside the Communist legal system,^[2] Jadids and other "Islamic socialists" were given positions of power,^[2] an affirmative action system called "korenizatsiya" (nativisation) was implemented which helped the local Muslim populace,^[2] while Friday, the day of Muslim religious celebration, was declared the legal day of rest throughout Central Asia.^[2] Under the Tzars, Muslims were brutally repressed and the Eastern Orthodox Church was the official religion. On 24 November 1917 Lenin declared;

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.^[2]

However, when Josef Stalin consolidated power in the second half of 1920s, his religion policy changed. Mosques were closed or turned into warehouses throughout Central Asia. Religious leaders were persecuted, religious schools were closed down and Waqf's were outlawed.^[3] The Soviet government took the Paranji veil that the women wore (as part of the Islamic Hijab interpretation of Modesty) as evidence that the Muslim women were oppressed, and began the Hujum to try and forcefully remove it.^[2]^[4] This backfired, and the veil became more popular than ever among the workers, whereas prior to this was mostly used by the middle, wealthier classes.^[5] Stalin's Cult of personality, left virtually no place for any religious sentiment.^[4]^[2]

In 1941 after the German invasion the Soviet Muslims officially declared Jihad against Germany.

Stalin also forcibly moved Chechens and several other small nationalities residing primarily in southwestern Russia (Crimean Tatars, Balkars, Karachais, Meshketian Turks, and others), who happen to be Muslim, from their homelands during World War II, lest they rise up against him in favour of Nazi Germany.^[6]
During Second World War, Stalin partially backed from open hostility with religion and established for Muftiates to garner support from Muslims of the Soviet Union. The Spiritual Directorate for Central Asia and Kazakhstan (in Tashkent), the Spiritual Directorate for the European Soviet Union and Siberia (in Orenburg), the Spiritual Directorate for the Northern Caucasus and Dagestan (in Ufa) and the The Spiritual Directorate for Transcaucasia (in Baku) were established in subsequent years.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Hannah, Abdul. "Chapter 1." Early History of Spread of Islam in (former) Soviet Union. 16 Sep 2002. Witness Pioneer. 14 Feb 2007 [1]
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Crouch, Dave. "The Bolsheviks and Islam." International Socialism: A quarterly journal of socialist theory. 110. 14 Feb 2007. [2]
^ Helene Carrere d’Encausse, The National Republics Lose Their Independence, in Edward A. Allworth, (edit), Central Asia: One Hundred Thirty Years of Russian Dominance, A Historical Overview, Duke University Press, 1994.
^ ^a ^b Kowalsky, Sharon A. Book Review: Veiled Empire: Gender and Power in Stalinist Central Asia. by Douglas Northrop Journal of World History: Vol. 26, No. 2, June 2005.
^ Douglas Northrop, Veiled Empire: Gender and Power in Stalinist Central Asia, Cornell University Press, 2004.
^ Robert Conquest, The Nation Killers: The Soviet Deportation of Nationalities (London: Macmillan, 1970); S. Enders Wimbush and Ronald Wixman. 1975. "The Meskhetian Turks: A New Voice in Central Asia." Canadian Slavonic Papers 17 (Summer and Fall): 320-340; and Omer Bin Abdullah. Muslims of Chechnya continue their lonesome struggle for freedom, keeping Russian might in a bear trap. Islam Online. 03/02/2001