01.09.2004

Enriching

Siraj Mohamed shares his impressions of his first Communist University

Attending Communist University was a very enriching experience for me.

The programme presented was full and varied. The subject matter catered for all tastes - discussions on religion, including islam, Lenin’s What is to be done?, as well as music and ‘Mission Mars’.
The speakers were from different political persuasions and were all allowed ample time to present their point of view. The discussions following each presentation were stimulating; everyone present was invited to participate in a very democratic way, and all were given sufficient time to present their opinion, even if it was not the prevailing view. It was a week of extremely healthy debate. All participants were made to feel that their contribution had value, and no one was ridiculed or belittled.

The organisers are to be complimented on running such an intense, interesting week of courses from which I personally benefited so much. It is a matter of true regret that courses like this are not held all over the world, especially in the developing countries, where intellectual resources are so scarce.

As a person from the so-called ‘third world’ with a Marxist perspective based on political economy, I was particularly interested in the theoretical aspects of the contributions. I feel very strongly that not enough attention is paid to political theory. This failing has led the left in many countries, including Britain, to adopt wrong political positions: eg, supporting nationalist movements like the African National Congress in the name of revolutionary struggle, when there was never anything revolutionary about ANC policies; or the failure to recognise that the communist parties worldwide were Stalinist, and the devastating role played by Stalinism in influencing political developments all over the world.
On a personal level, I felt that I was with friends and comrades, and became a member of the communist family of the UK. I will try to attend as many events like this as is possible in the future.

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