The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Muslim workers who had suffered as a result of the crackdowns conducted by the Taraki-Amin regime.“As the events in Herat demonstrated, during such uprisings, a sudden rise ofreligious fanaticism among vast masses of the population occurs. This fanaticism is thenchanneled by counter-revolutionary forces into anti-government and anti-Soviet actions.Such actions include not only open protests, but also acts of sabotage, treachery, and deceit.Some Afghans who were sympathizers with the revolutionary regime and the Soviet peopleuntil the crisis could, under the influence of religious psychosis, commit such actions, whichwere not representative of who they really were.“As follows from the above, the Muslim clergy is one of the most important drivingforces that defined the development of the modern situation in Afghanistan. In connectionwith this, we propose the following:1. Soviet specialists and advisers should always consider the potential reaction ofMuslim clergy to the actions of the Afghan authorities.2. The KGB Representative Office should use every opportunity to appeal to Afghanauthorities to cease any unjustified persecutions of the representatives of theMuslim clergy.3. The work with representatives of the so-called ‘official clergy’ should be intensified.Mass media should be used in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries to increasethe ‘official clergy’s’ authority among the believers in Afghanistan.4. Visits by the top Soviet Muslim clergymen to Afghanistan should be organized in thenear future. They should meet with members of the Afghan clergy and deliversermons in Afghan mosques.411