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Soviet Islam and World Revolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2011

M. B. Olcott
M. B. Olcott
Affiliation:
Colgate University
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Abstract

The relationship between Soviet Islam and the Islamic revival outside the U.S.S.R. is neither unidimensional nor definitionally antagonistic. Although bogged down in a costly civil war in Afghanistan, the Soviet leaders have tried to maintain a public stance of tolerance toward Islam. Recent Soviet writings reflect a new sophistication, which demonstrates unblinkered consideration of Islam as both a social and a political force. The quiescent state of Islam in the Muslim regions of the U.S.S.R., where indigenous populations practice a nondoctrinal, heavily ritualistic religion, further makes it unlikely that the Soviets are following aggressive policies in Southwest Asia because they fear Islamic fundamentalism at home.

Type
Research Article
Information
World Politics , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , July 1982 , pp. 487 - 504
Copyright
Copyright © Trustees of Princeton University 1982

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References

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