The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

“I think we can use open-source information for such an analysis instead of relyingsolely on our operatives. And Valery, I think, wouldn’t mind sharing some of the archivalmaterials that he has collected for his dissertation,” replied Khotyaev.Several days later, Orlov-Morozov sat in his office reading a document submitted byKhotyaev titled “Regarding the Influence of Muslim Clergy on the Evolution of the PoliticalSituation in Afghanistan.” Khotyaev himself sat on the side of Orlov-Morozov’s desk chainsmokingcheap cigarettes and waiting for the deputy resident’s opinion about his work.“As the recent rebellion in Herat demonstrated,” the deputy resident read, “theenemies of the new regime intend to use slogans in their propaganda activities aboutdefending Islam from the atheistic, pro-communist forces that have taken power. In theirorganizational activities, the Afghan counter-revolutionaries intend to engage the supportand broad influence of the Muslim clergy (according to the Iranian model).”“You should edit this a bit, Valera. And also dedicate a paragraph to discussing howthe Iranian ayatollahs took advantage of their status in the country to advance the IslamicRevolution.”Khotyaev nodded in agreement.“Islam is a religion that is ingrained from birth and followed blindly by broadsections of Afghan people, peasants in particular,” Orlov-Morozov continued. “This religionbrings people up according to the idea of a universal Muslim brotherhood. The principal ofaccepting the predetermination of everything that happens in life becomes an ideology thateliminates social controversies in the minds of the people. This religion is constantlyimpressing upon Afghans the superiority of the good Muslim relative to representatives ofother religions, particularly atheists, the idea of justice and fairness in the Muslim403