AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): While Saudi Arabia today presents itself as an open and reformed country that has fought extremism and is redefining its religious discourse, the activities of its religious institutions beyond its borders indicate the continuation of some old instruments of influence, particularly in Africa.
In Nigeria, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs held a scientific course for approximately 150 religious students and scholars in Lagos, the capital, dedicated to the exposition of the book "Matn al-Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah" by Ibn Taymiyyah, a program that Riyadh claims is aimed at promoting moderation but in reality leads to an increase in extremism.
Over several decades, Saudi influence has been tied to the funding of mosques, schools, religious centers, and the provision of educational scholarships in African countries. In this regard, estimates have been published putting the amount of these expenditures over three decades at approximately 100 billion dollars. For instance, Saudi Arabia's strategy at one time included granting over 5,000 university scholarships to Muslims in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda with the aim of reinforcing extremism. Saudi Arabia also created dozens of residential units for Wahhabi researchers in cities and villages across East Africa to support the spread of Wahhabism.
Saudi influence in schools and universities was not limited to building educational centers, but also included supporting curricula and books, as well as dispatching teachers and religious missionaries, an action that has given Riyadh the ability to shape a generation of radical and extremist religious elites.
While Riyadh speaks of combating extremist thought, the continued export of books and promotion of the symbols of the Wahhabi school raise the question of how real and deep the changes that Saudi Arabia speaks of in its media circles truly are.
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