Q. Huzoor, most kindly advise us whether Communism and Atheism are interlinked. Also, is there any provision for religion in a Communist society? A. Yes and no. In fact, for both the parts of your question, there are two parts to your question. The answer is yes and no. The fact is that directly, Atheism may not give rise to Communism, because Atheism is known from ancient days.
The Holy Quran speaks of Atheism from the earliest possible days of history. The very first expression of Atheism that we know of appeared during the time of Adam, and some believed in him and some disbelieved. But there was no Communism at that time. So to say that Atheism gives birth to Communism is wrong. In reality, what gave birth to Communism was a distorted version of religion, a distorted image of God, which was not true, which was just imaginary. That gave birth to Communism. Christianity of the 18th century, 19th century, is responsible for the creation of Communism.
But that is another subject, let’s not dwell long upon that. But Atheism has a relationship definitely with Communism, in the sense that the very first brick of Communist philosophy is laid on annihilation of religion and non-existence of God. Marx raises this question and tells us that if you accept the concept of God, then naturally you have nothing to do yourself. If there is a religion, any religion which is true, then everything which is devised by that religion becomes obligatory on everybody else, because there is a creator, he owns things, he has the right to organize the life he has created, so why should we waste our time in devising some better systems for man?
But he says, here is what he categorically mentions, he says religion is an opium. There is no God. Religion is an opium to keep the poor people drugged and dazzled so that they may never think of what is happening to them. And it is an instrument in the hands of bourgeois, the capitalists, because religion is created for the sake of that higher class which enslaves every other class of human beings. So it’s their instrument. And because it was created for this crooked purpose, it has to be wiped out.
Had Marx believed in God, and he believed even in the possibility of the existence of God, he could not have produced this argument. So he does away with the concept of God so that no superhuman being is permitted to interfere into human affairs. And from then on, he takes up the kajal for himself, and begins to unfold his philosophy. So atheism has a very direct relationship in this way with communist philosophy. Why this happened? Marx being a very intelligent person, why did he become so confused about religion? Why couldn’t he recognise the truth of God? And why didn’t he recognise the fact that religion never played an instrumental role in the hands of bourgeois at the beginning, when it was made?
So it was a positive contradiction to what he was claiming. Yet he couldn’t know this, couldn’t comprehend this fact. Why? Because he was born in a particular era of European society where religion had actually become an instrument in the hands of the bourgeois of Europe. The church had become corrupt. The church in fact had become bourgeois in itself. And they owned the maximum property everywhere in Europe. And they exploited that wealth against the poor. And they helped the exploitation of the poor’s rights at the hands of the upper classes and so on. So because they gave this exploitation a religious sanction, and declared that nobody has a right to raise his finger against such superiors, whatever they may do.
Because this was happening, Marx was born into this society and naturally he had a reaction against all this. He saw religion in exactly this context. So he was within his rights to say what he said. But unfortunately the message of Islam did not reach him. Unfortunately, he never cared to study the early history of Christianity, not to mention Islam. Had he read the early history of Christianity, he would have found a completely opposite picture. If religion was created to become an instrument in the hands of capitalists, why should it be created to serve exactly the opposite end in the beginning? Why should it raise the banner in the favour of the poor and against the rich of a certain time? Not generally.
So read the pronouncements of Jesus Christ and the way he lived, and the way he taught his people to live, and the entire edifice of Marx’s argument is shattered, is raised to ground. So in that way, there is a connection between atheism and communism, as I have just mentioned, but that is a connection of a temporary convenience. Because it was convenient for the communists of Marx’s time and even the communists of today, to dub the concept of God on the basis that it’s an opium, it’s a very popular phrase, which will be digested by the masses generally and they would raise a banner against religion. So it is a matter of convenience for them to keep this contact alive. Otherwise, directly, atheism has nothing to do with Marxism.
