There was this man who was well-versed in the events that had taken place in the U.S.S.R and the part which is populated by Shia - the Republic of Azerbaijan. He told us that when the communists dominated Azerbaijan, they eliminated all signs of Islam. For example, they turned mosques into sheds and they used religious buildings and hussayniahs for other purposes. They left no signs of religion and Shia there. There was only one thing that they allowed and that was the "Qame Zani" [a religiously prohibited ritual in which people cut their foreheads with a dagger. This act has been declared haraam by all religious authorities in the Shia world]. The order that the communist leaders issued to their subordinates specified that Muslims were not allowed to pray, hold public prayers, mourn for their religious figures or hold any religious ceremonies. They were, however, allowed to practice this self-mutilating ceremony! Why did they allow it? They allowed it because the very act of self-mutilation was used by them as tool to promote their own anti-religion campaign. You see how the enemy uses some things against religion. Whenever superstitions step in, pure religion is defamed.
(This anecdote was told in a public meeting with the people of Mashahad on the Persian New Year's Day.)