Violence and Defiance by the USSR

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) dealt with Islam in these republics with violence and defiance since it extended its influence over those lands. The police seized all copies of the Quran and burned them between 1929 and 1936. They were assisted in this by several atheist associations that conducted anti-Islam propaganda at the time.

Anti-Religious Campaigns in the Media

The Soviet government used all media to achieve its goal of fighting Islam and its followers. For example, in 1962, 23,000 lectures were delivered in the Republic of Uzbekistan against religion. Cinemas and radio stations were used to fight religion and distort the image of Muslims who went to mosques, fasted during Ramadan, or celebrated Islamic holidays.

Union of Atheists and Prevention of Pilgrimage

To this end, the communists established the Union of Atheists in 1923 and prevented pilgrims from going to the Kaaba. Before the Soviets took over Islamic lands, the number of Muslim pilgrims in these areas was about 35,000 annually. However, with these fierce campaigns targeting Islam for years, their number under Soviet rule ranged between 15 and 20 pilgrims only in some years! In many years, no Soviet pilgrims reached the Kaaba!

Practicing Religion Amid Fear

Under these extremely difficult circumstances, Muslims practiced their religion amid waves of intense fear. Therefore, during this period, only the elderly appeared as mosque-goers due to the prohibition of prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage on the pretext that it economically affected Soviet society. Faced with this, some religious leaders in Russia issued fatwas that aligned with Soviet goals, allowing Muslims to perform their religious rituals in a way that did not affect the economy's future.

Fatwas to Align with Soviet Goals

For example, these fatwas permitted Muslims to pray only once a day and to fast for only one day during the entire month of Ramadan! The Soviet authorities issued an order prohibiting the slaughter of sacrificial animals, even if they were privately owned, on the pretext of the economic damage that would result from slaughtering such a large number of sacrificial animals.

Sources for Further Reading

For further information on this topic, you can refer to the following sources:

• Michele Companjen's “Muslim Minorities and Modernity: Hints from Europe,” Chapter on Muslims in the Soviet Union.
• Mikhail Ryklin's “Communism as Religion,” which covers aspects of Soviet anti-religion campaigns, including against Islam.
• Dmitry V. Shlapentokh's “Russia Between East and West: Scholarly Debates on Eurasianism,” discussing religious policies in the Soviet Union.
• Silvio Ferrari and Sabrina Pastorelli's "Religion in Public Spaces: A European Perspective," specifically on how the USSR dealt with religious practices.