|Criticizing

hea

earth, not

~ Neo-colonialist ideologists who set themselves the |

_ aim of divorcing the Moslem countries from the world of

Socialism, are now active in asserting that Marxism and
Islam are irreconcilable and hostile towards each other.
‘They assert that the Marxists are prejudiced against all

_ | believers and all political trends acting under religious
~ || slogans. These assertions are groundless.

Marxists believe that as far as.political questions are <
concerned it is not the religion people belong to that *
counts, but the class positions of the believers and their ¢
| organizations. Lenin, the founder’ of the Soviet state,

| who had given an all-round substantiation to the policy

and tactics of the communists on questions of the at-
| titude to religion and believers, emphasized that unity of
_the oppressed working masses in the struggle against

:. exploiters is‘more important for communists than unity
} of opinion on questions of religious faith.

The destiny of the Moslems of Russia who were freed
from all forms of social, national and religious oppres-
sion, is a good example of the Marxist approach to the
‘solution of the national-religious question. **... We are

| giving every help to the independent, free development
| of each nation... .,’’ Lenin wrote.

The classics of Marxism-Leninism have repeatedly

approach in the evaluation of the political role of religion
which, just like nationalism, historically has two aspects
— a progressive and a reactionary one.
Today events in the Moslem East confirm the. con-
| clusion made at the 26th Soviet Communist Party Con-
“gress in 1981 that ‘‘the. banner of Islam may lead into

|) struggle for liberation’’ but at the same time “‘reaction,

too, manipulates with Islamic slogans to incite counter-
revolutionary mutinies.”’ :
A mass-scale national-liberation movement with a
Pronounced anti-imperialist trend plays a tremendous
Tole in the development of the revolutionary process in
the countries of the Middle and Near East. Taking into
account the fact that religion continues to be the
dominating form of public consciousness jn these coun-
tries, Marxists do not exclude, but, on the contrary,
presuppose the involvement of people of different faiths
in the struggle for social progress. Support by the Marx-
ists of progressive transformations carried out under the

. pointed to the need for displaying a concrete historical:

(ll

Analysis

banner of Islam by no means is a betrayal by them of the
Marxist world outlook. ;

Generalizing the stand of the Arab Marxists with re-
gard to Islam at the current stage of the revolutionary
movement in the Arab countries, Egyptian Marxist
M.A. al-Alim writes that Marxism is ‘‘not an institution
for spreading atheism, *’ but a teaching that struggles for
the revolutionary changing and renovation of life. In this
context, it is the task of the Arab Marxists ‘‘not to
criticize heaven, but to criticize events on earth.”

Marxists in the Moslem countries declare that they

‘strive to cooperate with democratic elements in the Is-

lamic movement. Explaining his party’s stand with re-
gard to Islam, Muhammed Harmel, leader of the Tuni-
sian Communist Party, said in an interview with the
Italian paper L’ Unita: ‘*.. . We live in a Moslem country

and consider Islam as not belonging to one individual :

person or not even to one single party, but to the entire
nation. Of course, we most actively support progressive
and democratic trends in it, but not the reactionary ones.

‘Tt should also be explained that the struggle is waged
not between believing Moslems and non-believers, but
‘that the matter concerns an economic, social, political
and ideological struggle, and consequently there just is
no religious struggle.”

Moslems in Soviet mosque: separating the good from the bad.

. Bourgeois and right-wing clerical circles in the Mos-
lem countries are trying to keep the influence that relig-
ion has on the masses as a barrier to the spreading of
progressive ideas. In Afghanistan, counter-revolution-
ary elements come out under the slogans of *‘defending
Islam” against ‘‘alien influence’’, Marxist ideology, and
call for a struggle against ‘‘impious people and commun-
ists.’’ In a bid to confuse the people and turn religion into
a weapon against the anti-imperialist struggle, they seek
to push the country off its progressive course.

The discussion started by bourgeois ideologists
around the question whether the Marxists are friends or
enemies of Islam, is artificial and ought to be put a
different way: who is an enemy and whois a friend of the
Moslem natjons?

From the Marxist standpoint, all exploiters, regard-
less of whether they are Moslems or atheists, are to an
equal degree enemies of the working people. At the same
time imperialism is no enemy of Islam, in general. It is
hostile only towards the democratic progressive forces
taking part in the social movement in the Moslem coun-
tries. It patronizes the feudal and reactionary forces
acting under the banner of Islam.

This manifests itself particularly clearly in the Middle
and Near East, where U.S.-led imperialism has now
more than ever stepped up its attacks against the peoples
waging a just struggle for freedom and independence.

Prepared ‘for Novosti Press Agency by Dina Malyshe-
va, M.A. (History). -

The press of October 30 revealed that
Solicitor General Robert Kaplan ‘‘has
been quietly lobbying” his Cabinet col-
leagues *‘to lift the 1976 moratorium on

" writs of assistance.”” (Globe & Mail). A
writ of assistance is a device that gives
RCMP officers free-wheeling powers of
search and seizure without judicial re-
straints. In other words puts the RCMP

above the law.

ok KS ;

to begin with. We say “‘begin with’’, be-

\

|

i Marxism-Leninism Today

_ | pS a TE

but I was not a Communist so I did no-

blé for search and seizure once the
RCMP is armed with writs of assistance.

The Communist Party has written to
Solicitor General Kaplan asking him to
burn that list. And, if he-cannot do that,
to explain why he can’t. The party still
awaits his reply. The reason he hesitates
to reply is quite simple. He knows that
there can be no explanation why there
should be a list of 800,000 persons in
Canada who constitute a threat to Cana-

| Democracy target of fascist-type device

The G & M exposé explains that the
‘Writs of assistance are extra-ordinary

| Powers given certain RCMP officers for

life. These powers enable the RCMP to
Carry out search and seizures when in
their judgement, there is insufficient time
to obtain a search warrant from a judge.

reactivating this fascist-type device is his
declared alarm at ‘‘an increase in hard
drug trafficking”’. But almost in the same
breath; he admits that he does not have
enough hard evidence to back up his

‘e

wants to bestow upon the RCMP.
* *° *

To say the least, Kaplan’s rationale to
hand over such special powers to the
RCMP carries the distinctive odor of a
con game directed against the general
public. A cover for a plot against democ-
racy. A red herring to obscure the real
target, namely the democratic rights of
the people, especially those of the labor

- Movement and the political left. That is

The solicitof general’s rationale for -

alarm, or to justify the sinister powers he .

cause the appetite of the reactionary

right for ever more victims is insatiable. _

As evidence for the charge that
democracy is the real target, we call upon
the McDonald Commission report on the
RCMP. That report recommended that
additional powers be given to the Sec-
urity Branch of ‘the RCMP for national
security investigations. Suh additional
measures include ‘‘search and seizure’’,
as embodied in a “‘writ of assistance’.

~ Seizure could well be interpreted as the

arrest of a person. <
eae. 8 ay

Let us refresh our memory as’ to what
can, and does happen, when an agency of

~ the state such as the army or the police, is

empowered to act above the law of the
land, as was the case when fascism came
to power in nazi Germany. We draw the
reader’s attention to the immortal words

_of Pastor Martin Niemoller penned in

Germany, 1945 after the defeat of Ger-
man fascism in World War Two.
- “First they arrested the Communists,

thing. -

“Then they came for the Social
Democrats, but I was not a Social Demo-
crat so I did nothing.

‘““Then they arrested the Trade
Unionists and I did nothing because I
was not one.

“Then they came for the Jews and
Catholics but I was neither a Jew nor a
Catholic and I did nothing.

‘‘At last they came and arrested me,
and there was no one left to do anything
about it.”’

eGR tops

Perhaps there are some among us who,

while agreeing with the words of Pastor
Niemoller, believe that it can’t happen
here. But so thought the good Pastor be-
fore he was seized and thrown into a
concentration camp as a security risk to
the nazi regime. Perhaps it may comes as
a surprise to some of our readers to learn
that the RCMP has a list of 800,000 per-
sons who are suspected of being ‘‘sec-
urity risks’’, and as such would be eligi-

da’s security. What that list most proba-
bly represents is the number of individu-
als in Canada who, at one time or an-
other, have uttered criticisms of the

economic, social and political system .

that rule in Canada. But, is that a crime
against Canada? Surely not. :
: f * * *

What that list of 800,000 roughly
represents are those Canadian citizens
and residents who stand opposed to the
dictatorial economic and political power
of monopoly capital, which presently
subjects Canada and her people to its
will. The security at risk, therefore, is
that of the monopolists and their profit-
taking. cs ee :

It should not be forgotten that as the

- crisis of monopoly. capitalism deepens,
so will the attacks on the working-class
and democratic movements grow.
Therefore these movements must de-
fend their rights and liberties; must
resolutely oppose Kaplan's bid to give
the RCMP its ‘‘writs of assistance’.

eae

e

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOV. 20, 1881—Page 5