1 Saudi influence in Kyrgyzstan: Beyond Mosques, Schools and Foundations Emil Nasritdinov, Mametbek Myrzabaev This paper explores the influence of Saudi Dawah on the religious situation in Kyrgyzstan. It is intended as a chapter for the edited volume by Peter Mandaville titled Wahhabism in the World. This is the first draft. Comments and recommendations for improvement are welcome. Introduction This paper analyzes the influence of Saudi Arabia and Salafism on the religious situation in Kyrgyzstan - the former Soviet Union republic in the heart of Central Asia. The country has been independent for nearly three decades now and there are plenty of historical developments to review to make such an analysis. The paper aims to describe the history of Saudi engagement with the Kyrgyz state and local population, review the mechanisms of engagement and demographics of affected groups, and study the local perception of Saudis and Saudi Dawah. The paper starts by setting the scene and describing the situation with Kyrgyzstan’s policy towards religion in general and discussing the methodology of approaching such a subject. Kyrgyzstan is known as a country with the most liberal policy towards religion in Central Asia. The first serious attempt to regulate religious life was introduced only in 2005 when the Law on the Freedom of Religion was developed, while the more serious attempts to formulate a proper religious policy were only taken in 2013-2014. Prior to that, Kyrgyzstan was a fairly welcoming home for all kinds of religious movements; many were able to establish their roots and acquire fellowship. Not only Muslim, but also a large number of Christian Evangelical churches used this opportunity to preach and many became quite popular. Even when the new policy was developed in 2014, Kyrgyzstan still maintained a much more liberal and less repressive policy towards religion compared to other Central Asian countries and Russia. Until now, it has a number of groups, which are banned in the neighboring countries, but legal in Kyrgyzstan, like Khizmet or Tablighi Jamaat. Some see such situation as a matter of security concern, while many experts believe that the relative freedom of religion that Kyrgyzstan has is the best warrant of stability in the country. On one hand, when the government is not repressive towards religion, it does not give grounds for radical and extremist groups to attack the secular regime. On the other hand, the legal presence of more peaceful Islamic groups creates a strong competition and obstacle for the development of more radical ideologies. The government rhetoric on religion however is far from homogenous. There are