Office of the Historian

189. Memorandum From the Director of the International Communication Agency (Reinhardt) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski)1

Washington, November 15, 1979

SUBJECT

  • VOA Broadcasting

In response to your memorandum of November 8, 1979,2 the International Communication Agency is studying various3 approaches to augment present programming and broadcasting to Muslim countries with information concerning the treatment of that minority in the Soviet Union.

Over the past year, in addition to its news reporting, the Voice of America has broadcast several major programs which have addressed the treatment of Muslims in the Soviet Union. These have included:

—A three-part series in Bengali and Urdu on the state of Soviet Muslims and how these communities are used by the Soviet Union as part of the political appeal to Muslims in other parts of the world. These broadcasts were based on a series of feature articles on Soviet Islam by Moscow-based Washington Post correspondent Kevin Klose.4

—A backgrounder on the Islamic revival which drew from the same Washington Post series.

—A major “Close-Up” documentary on Iran which included a discussion of Soviet concern over the religious revival in Iran and its impact on the Soviet Muslim population.

—A three-part series now being completed on the 1400th Anniversary of Islam in which our Middle East correspondent interviewed a number of leaders on the world-wide impact of the religion. The program includes attention to Soviet treatment of the Muslim minority.

Among the approaches to programming on this subject presently under study, the most appealing appears to be inclusion of the Soviet [Page 570] treatment of this minority within the larger subject of Muslims throughout the world. More specifically, in addition to information broadcast on Soviet handling of Muslims, we would, through interviews and features, characterize the lives of Muslims in other parts of the world, including the United States. This comparative approach, combined with historical information on Muslim life, charting its development and contributions, would likely be the most credible and effective. It would, of course, specifically include the points you make about Soviet policies and actions.

Though your memorandum specifically addresses our broadcasting function, we will also consider all material on Soviet Muslims for use by other USICA elements. In cases where our access to a particular society is open, the printed media and our speaker program may be more useful, or at least can be an added complement to our broadcasts.5

I would like to note that some of our officers who are experienced in this area caution that Muslims, especially those who live in the countries adjacent to the Soviet Union, are already well aware of Soviet practices and policies in the Muslim sections of the Soviet Union and that it is not necessary and may well be counter-productive for USICA to do anything more than occasionally remind them of Soviet policies and actions.6

  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Subject File, Box 9, Board for International Broadcasting (RFE, RL, VOA): 5/79–1/80. Confidential.↩
  2. In a November 8 memorandum, Brzezinski directed Reinhardt to include in VOA broadcasts to the Middle East information about the treatment of Moslems in the Soviet Union. (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Office File, Subject Chron File, Box 112, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Voice of America: 10–12/79)↩
  3. Brzezinski underlined “is studying various.”↩
  4. “Moslems Blunt Sharp Atheistic Thrust of Soviet Life,” December 31, 1978, p. A14; “Soviet Moslems Used to Woo Asians, Arabs,” January 1, 1979, p. A17; and “Despite Soviet Teachings, Moslems Cling to Beliefs,” January 2, 1979, p. A14.↩
  5. Brzezinski placed a vertical line in the left-hand margin next to this paragraph.↩
  6. Brzezinski placed a vertical line in the left-hand margin next to this paragraph.↩