International propagation of Salafism
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Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s (and appearing to diminish after 2017),[1] Salafism and Wahhabism[2] — along with other Sunni interpretations of Islam favored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia[3][4][5] and other Gulf monarchies — achieved[lower-alpha 1] a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam."[6]
The impetus for the international propagation of these interpretations of Islam through the Muslim world was, according to political scientist Alex Alexiev, "the largest worldwide propaganda campaign ever mounted",[lower-alpha 2] David A. Kaplan describes it as "dwarfing the Soviets’ propaganda efforts at the height of the Cold War"[lower-alpha 3] funded by petroleum exports.[3][8][9] On the other hand, scholars like Peter Mandaville have cautioned against such hyperbolic assertions, pointing out the unreliability of inconsistent data estimates based on "non-specific hearsay".[10]
From 1982 to 2005 in an effort to spread Wahhabi Islam, over $75 billion was spent, via international organizations[lower-alpha 4] and religious attaches at dozens of Saudi embassies,[3][12] to establish/build 200 Islamic colleges, 210 Islamic centers, 1,500 mosques, and 2,000 schools for Muslim children in Muslim and Non-Muslim majority countries.[13][14] Mosque funding was combined with persuasion to propagate the dawah Salafiyya;[3][12] schools were "fundamentalist" in outlook and formed a network "from Sudan to northern Pakistan".[15][16][17] Supporting proselytizing or preaching of Islam[lower-alpha 5] has been called "a religious requirement" for Saudi rulers that cannot [or could not] be abandoned "without losing their domestic legitimacy" as protectors and propagators of Islam.[11]
Other strict and conservative interpretations of Sunni Islam assisted by funding from the Gulf monarchies include the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-e-Islami (until the break between the Muslim Brotherhood and Gulf monarchies in the 1990s). While their alliances were not always permanent,[18] they were said to have formed a "joint venture",[19] sharing a strong "revulsion" against Western influences,[20] a belief in strict implementation of sharia law,[8] an opposition to both Shi'i and popular Islamic religious practices (the veneration of Muslim saints and visitations of their tombs),[19] and a belief in the importance of armed jihad.[21] A "fusion",[22] or "hybrid", of the two movements came out of the Afghan jihad,[21] where thousands of Muslims were trained and equipped to fight against Soviets and their Afghan allies in Afghanistan in the 1980s.[21]
The funding has been criticized for promoting an intolerant, fanatical form of Islam that allegedly helped to breed Islamic terrorism,[11][23] and takfir. Critics argue that volunteers mobilized to fight in Afghanistan (such as Osama bin Laden) went on to wage jihad against Muslim governments and civilians in other countries. And that conservative Sunni groups such as the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan are attacking and killing not only Non-Muslims (Kuffar) but also fellow Muslims they consider to be apostates, such as Shia and Sufis.[24] As of 2017, changes to Saudi religious policy have led some to suggest that "Islamists throughout the world will have to follow suit or risk winding up on the wrong side of orthodoxy".[1]