Upon returning from his visit to Uzbekistan Hazrat said, "During the time of the USSR it was illegal to grow a beard, pray Namaz (Salah) or teach Arabic, and it was so strictly enforced that if it became known that someone prayed Namaz or taught or learnt Arabic then they were punished very harshly. Because other people do not always follow their practices as firmly therefore many of them didn't face such hardships but Muslims went through a very tough time. Even in such trying circumstance the way religious scholars kept the Deen (religion) alive is that they had built small cubicles in their homes e.g. there would be a small enclave behind a wardrobe instead of a wall. When everyone went to sleep at around 2-3 am then these people went to these cubicles and because all the religious books had been confiscated they just taught from memory. That is why even after 70 years of such oppression one still finds occasional people who speak Arabic. Otherwise many Muslims there don't even know that alcohol is Hara'am (impermissible). This "Mullah" is very thick-skinned. That is why people oppose him so much because they know they can not alter the Deen while he is still alive.