The USSR, Afghanistan, and the Muslim World

Abstract

This chapter covers the interplay between the USSR, Afghanistan, and the Muslim world. It cites that the Soviet-Afghan War's negative fallout undermined years of Soviet backing for causes important to Muslims. Throughout the Soviet–Afghan War, the Soviets and the Afghan communists put considerable effort into strengthening the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan's (DRA) Islamic credentials on the international stage. To undermine international support for the mujahideen, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) under Soviet leadership concentrated on organizing an information campaign in domestic and foreign media and establishing diplomatic relations with Muslim countries. The chapter considers the limits of the DRA's Islamic credentials since it relied entirely on the USSR. It mentions how the Muslim world saw how Islamic solidarity prevailed over Cold War realpolitik.