In this study, Bennigsen and Wimbush trace the development of the doctrine of national communism in Central Asia and the Caucasus. At the heart of this doctrine-as elaborated by the Volga Tatar, Mir-Said Sultan Galiev-was the concept of "proletarian nations," as opposed to the traditional notion of a working class. With such ideological innovations, Sultan Galiev and his contemporaries were able to reconcile Marxist nationalisms and Islam and devise an "Eastern strategy" whereby the national revolution was to be spread.
The authors show that the ideas of Muslim national communism persist...

A study of the origins, evolution and current state of the Soviet use of its official Islamic establishment as a means of increasing its influence among Muslim elites in the Islamic world, especially in the Persian Gulf. Case studies and recommendations for US policy are included.