Thirdly, to rally round the Muslims of the worldagainst the USSR, the CIA consciously encouraged religious fanaticism andpan-Islamism. The intelligence agencies of the US and the West Europeancountries encouraged jobless Muslims in many countries to go to Pakistan,undergo military training in the newly sprung-up Wahabi-Deobandi madrasas andjoin the Afghan Mujahideen. Between 6,000 and 10,000 Muslims, the majority ofthem Arabs, went and fought against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan, with SaudiArabia funding them, the ISI training and motivating them and the CIA and otherWestern intelligence agencies equipping them. Osama bin Laden, then a blue-eyedboy of the CIA, played an active role in the training and motivation of thesemercenaries and led them to battle against the Soviet troops. In addition to theArabs, jobless Muslims from the Jammu & Kashmir State of India, Bangla Desh,the Arakan area of Myanmar, Southern Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia werealso encouraged by the CIA to join this mercenary brigade.