The Guardian of Liberty - Nemzetőr, 1980 (3. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1980-01-01 / 1. szám
3 1-MONTH LY B 20435 F THE GUARDIAN O F LIBERTY (NEMZETŐR) Vol. XXIV JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1980 'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" \rticle 18 Universal Declaration of Human Rights ANTI-ISLAM DRIVE HOTS UP I n recent months the Soviet * authorities have been hotting ip their routine efforts to try to liscredit Islam in the eyes of the nhabitants of the USSR’s Central Asian costituent republics. The officials responsible for organising lectures and „agitprop“ meetings on atheism are malting use of a short textbook, The New Way of Life and Islam, which was published in Moscow last year. Its author is Nursakhat Bairamsakhatov, head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the .Communist Party of Turkmenia. From 1968 to 1971 he was Deputy Chairman of the Turkmen branch of the Znanie Society, a strongly government-backed body propagating atheism throughout the USSR. The book, like the wealth of similar anti-religious literature published by the Soviet authorities, claims that belief in God is on the decline. However, this general assertion is belied by the book’s admission that „. .. Islam even today has a significant number of adherents among some Eastern peoples in our country, including Turkmens“. Later, the book says: „The active role played by the Muslim clergy, their work in adapting Islam to changing circumstances, in ideological and indoctrination work in general and in scientific-atheist work in particular, also constitute factors in the perpetuation of religious survivals in the everyday life of the Turkmen countryside“. Bairamsakhatov also admits that foreign radio broadcasts are listened to by many Soviet Muslims. The book says: „The results of sociological surveys show that the preservation of religious and everyday survivals in certain frontiers areas is assisted by broadcasts transmitted from Iran hy Radio Gorgan in the Turkmenian langue”. The book also reports that these Iranian broadcasts are listened to „collectively” and tape-recorded Elsewhere the book says: „The Muslim clergy play an active role in preserving religious survivals in the consciusrred and daily life women”. The author accuses the clergy of exploiting the „inattentive attitűd.“ shown towards any individual woman collective-farm worker by her colleagues or the farm management. The mullahs are also said to exploit „natural disasters or personal grief“. The book admits obliquely that Islam is still a strong influence among the young people of Soviet Central Asia. »... the clergy,“ it says, „try, in the mos{ varied ways, to spread their influence among members of the younger generation“. Later, the book refers to the „negative influence on young people” of ”a new phenomenon” which has arisen in the last ten to 15 years. It is the habit of celebrating the end of a fast in groups instead of within the family circle. Bairamsakhatov reports dolefully: »... there are often both children and young people in the house oj the person organising the celebration; they have conversations about Allah, the Prvphet Muhammed .. . and participate in collective prayers“. In an article in the December 20, 1979, issue of Pravda Vostoka, organ of the Uzbek Communist Party, Professor I. Dzhabbarov, Doctor of Philosophy, said that the efforts of researchers, propagandists and atheists should be directed towards a thorough study of how to discover ways of overcoming religious feelings among the Soviet population. He wrote: „Research has shown that in Uzbekistan, although great success has been achieved in (Continued on page 2) TIBET; Hankáu Vladivostok IRAK KUWAIT] Katari Hanoi Maskat] SUDAN "olf V. Bengalen Arabisches Meer lTHIOPI CEYLON [.BORNEO] TANSANIA: JAVA from CELEBES. SOVIET-USED PORTS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN AND GULFS The arc of crisis: Soviet navel base-expansion in the Indian Ocean CONTENTS: Students Burn Karmai Effigy2 A War against Humanity3 What It Means to Nigeria4 Muslim Soldiers Join Guerrillas5 Book’s Invasion Message Confirmed6 Strategic Grand Design7 Muslims Want Olympics Boycott8 ‘Stalinist’ Treatment of Sakharov9 Spy Bosses Glorified in Africa Novel 10 Cuban Mask Stripped off 11 I