Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed Saudi Arabia for pursuing sectarian policies and for promoting Wahhabism, a strict religious jurisprudence that is rejected by both Shia and mainstream Muslims. "Saudi Wahhabism has been the principle ideology that has led to [radical] groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)," Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a Thursday interview with Anadolu Agency. "[ISIS] have pushed it beyond what the Saudis want, but it is tinkering with a dangerous ideology that has no role for human rights in the practice of religion," he added. The tendency to ignore human rights in the face of security challenges imposed by the Iraqi and Syrian governments has led to the emergence of radical groups feeling threatened by government-sanctioned rights violations. The abuses of detainees in Abu Ghraib prison situated in Iraq and other detention centers has fueled aggression among radical groups. Additionally, alleged funding of extremist groups by Gulf States due to the regional security threats also played a significant role for the rise of ISIS.