Pakistan Minister: Saudis Destabilizing Muslim World

http://www.voanews.com/

A Pakistani Cabinet minister has accused the Saudi government of creating instability across the Muslim world, including Pakistan, through funding aimed at "promoting its ideology."

Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, speaking Tuesday in Islamabad, said that it is time to stop the influx of Saudi money.

Pirzada is the highest level Pakistani official to accuse Saudi Arabia of interfering in other countries' affairs by giving loans and other assistance to promote the Wahhabi faith, a fundamentalist brand of Sunni Islam. The timing of his comments coincide with Pakistani efforts to rally the nation against terrorism after a devastating attack on a Peshawar school that left 150 people, most of them children, dead.

The amount of Saudi spending on religious training, schools, mosques and other religious undertakings in other countries has not been revealed by the Saudi government, but has been estimated to be as high as two to three billion dollars a year. Critics have long complained that the austere vision of Wahhabism has radicalized individuals in countries with traditions of more moderate Islam.

In an interview with VOA Urdu after his remarks Tuesday, Pirzada said that everyone is aware of Saudi influence abroad. "What have I said wrong?" the minister said, adding, "it's a harsh reality."

The government has not issued any reaction to Pirzada's statement, but the comments have surprised many lawmakers.

http://www.voanews.com/content/pakistan-minister-says-saudis-destabilizing-muslim-world/2606474.html