Fear of Soviet alignment drove early US pressures on Muslim-majority nationalists

Evidence

In this context, nationalists and leftists who opposed US imperialism were cast not as bad “Muslims” but bad Arabs, Iranians, Afghans, or South Asians. Various leftists were not explicitly identified as bad Muslims. To the extent that “Islam” and “Muslims” were part of political discourse in the early Cold War era, the terms tended to be coded positively. As I have argued elsewhere, Saudi Islam in service of empire was the “right” kind of Islam. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 392 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

In the context of the Cold War, the United States had two objectives in the Middle East: to control the flow of oil and to keep the Soviet Union out. After an initial period when it tried to bring radical secular nationalists into the fold, it turned against them. This meant cultivating all forces that could counter radical secular nationalism and communism. At the top of this list were the Islamists. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: US cold-war strategy deliberately weaponized religion against nationalism and communism in Muslim regions — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 388; Neocons needed Islam as a unifying substitute for the USSR enemy; American Cold War strategy cultivated Islamists against secular nationalism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Early Cold War discourse coded Islam positively when anti-communist #qualifies (0.76) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 392
• Neocons needed Islam as a unifying substitute for the USSR enemy #corroborates (0.75)
• American Cold War strategy cultivated Islamists against secular nationalism #qualifies (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219