Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon on Wednesday blamed foreign madrasas for radicalising his impoverished country's youth, after Islamist militants staged a stunning jailbreak in the capital Dushanbe.
Mr. Rakhmon blasted Islamic religious schools for allegedly fostering terrorism.
“Many parents think that by sending their children to study in madrassas in Muslim countries they will be giving them a good financial position in the future,” he said in remarks carried on state television. “Unfortunately, most of them do not learn from mullahs, but from terrorists and extremists. They must all return home, otherwise they will become enemies and traitors,” he added.
Rakhmon did not name any particular country in the speech.
