ABSTRACT
The emergence of collective atheism in Afghanistan followed the rise of the People's Democratic Party during the April Revolution of 1978, supported by the Soviet Union. This study explores the evolution of the Party's approach to religion, which shifted from hostility to accommodation, and even claimed adherence to authentic Islam. It delves into the intricacies of this phenomenon and examines the reasons behind its eventual failure. An analysis of the Party's nature and evolution, as well as its policies, reveals that many Afghan communists were disconnected from the country's cultural nuances, hindering effective communication with the populace. Their atheism often appeared reactionary and politicized, leading to a conflation of political and religious narratives and contributing to the politicization of faith. Drawing primarily from Vassily A. Klimentov's exhaustive analysis of over 17,000 pages of documents from the Soviet Union's Telegraph Agency spanning the period of 1978–1988, this study serves as a foundational exploration of communist atheism in Afghanistan. Additional sources in both English and Farsi are incorporated to provide a contextual understanding of the event within the broader framework of Afghan intellectual traditions and to enrich existing literature on the subject.
