DISINFO: The West supports the rise of religious extremism in Central Asia directed against Russia and China
SUMMARY
Recently there has been increasing pressure from the clerically-oriented public regarding the issue of allowing headscarves and hijabs in schools. Among the supporters of spiritual-religious revival, there are not only the official clergy, southern elites, and the creative intellectual circles, but also radical Salafists who have their own allies in various spheres and pursue their own interests. It's worth noting that Western partners actively protect the interests of non-canonical currents of Islam, aiming to promote religious extremism in Central Asia directed against Russia and China.
RESPONSE
This is a mix of several pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the US as an evil force always conspiring to destabilise other countries, about encircling Russia (and China), and about US and other Western intelligence services supporting and using jihadist groups to advance geopolitical goals.
There is no credible evidence that the US, UK other Western governments and their intelligence services supported radical Islamist terrorist groups in any region of the world.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that US-sponsored Kazakhstan protests aimed to undermine CIS stability; that the West ordered a terrorist attack in Kazakhstan to create a hotbed at Russia’s border; or that the US generated and backed Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Taliban; that the West and the US are ferrying Islamic State members to Afghanistan to use them against China; as part of a so-called “Anaconda ring”; or that NATO is denying the presence of terrorists in the country but the FSB has evidence of it.