Editing Persecution of Muslims (section)

====Soviet Union====
{{Further|Deportation of the Crimean Tatars|Deportation of the Chechens and Ingush{{!}}Operation Lentil (Caucasus)}}
{{See also|Islam in the Soviet Union|Population transfer in the Soviet Union}}

The Soviet Union was hostile to all forms of religion, which was "[[opium of the people|the opium of the masses]]" in accordance with [[Marxism|Marxist ideology]]. Relative religious freedom existed for Muslims in the years following the revolution, but in the late 1920s the Soviet government took a strong anti-religious turn. Many mosques were closed or torn down.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/ussrmuslims.htm|title=Muslims in the Former U.S.S.R.|website=www.cyberistan.org}}</ref> During the period of [[Joseph Stalin]]'s leadership, [[Crimean Tatars|Crimean Tatar]], [[Chechen people|Chechen]], [[Ingush people|Ingush]], [[Balkars|Balkar]], [[Karachays|Karachay]], and [[Meskhetian Turks|Meskhetian Turk]] Muslims were victims of mass deportation. Though it principally targeted ethno-religious minorities, the deportations were officially based on alleged [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|collaborationism]]<ref name="Романько">Романько О.В. Крым 1941–44 гг. Оккупация и коллаборационизм. Симферополь, 2005</ref> during the [[German-occupied Europe|Nazi occupation]] of Crimea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cidct.org.ua/uk/publications/deport/3.html |title=ПРО КРИМСЬКИХ ТАТАР |language=uk |access-date=15 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602204620/http://www.cidct.org.ua/uk/publications/deport/3.html |archive-date=2 June 2010}}</ref> The deportation began on 17 May 1944 in all [[Crimea]]n inhabited localities. More than 32,000 [[NKVD]] troops participated in this action. 193,865 Crimean Tatars were deported, 151,136 of them to [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]], 8,597 to [[Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Mari ASSR]], 4,286 to [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]], the rest 29,846 to the various [[oblast]]s of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]].

From May to November, 10,105 Crimean Tatars died of starvation in Uzbekistan (7% of deported to Uzbek SSR). Nearly 30,000 (20%) died in exile during the year and a half by the NKVD data and nearly 46% by the data of the Crimean Tatar activists. According to Soviet dissident information, many Crimean Tatars were made to work in the large-scale projects conducted by the Soviet [[Gulag]] system of slave labour camps.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,823132,00.html |title=Russia: The Muzhik & the Commissar |date=30 November 1953 |magazine=Time |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204155756/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,823132,00.html |archive-date=4 December 2012}}</ref>