Facts About Islam: Russia

Islam: Another peaceful religion or a cult of terror? You decide.

Since the early 1990s, Russia has been a victim of Islamic terror. In mid and late 1980s, reforms passed under Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev gave way for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The steps taken by Gorbachev began to move Russia towards a Western democracy. Today, Islamic terrorists use freedom of speech in Western countries to advocate and to spread their vile propaganda. Until the late 1980s, the Soviet Union did not have such freedoms, hence no one had the right to speak their views. In addition to this, any kind of rebellions against the Soviet Union would be crushed by the government without any care for any innocent civilians.

Background Information

In 1991, the remnants of the Iron Curtain came tumbling down and finally, Eastern Europe was free. However, as with everything, there are good things and there are bad things. While democracy was much better than Communism, and Russia and other former Soviet Republics were now free of the iron fist of Communism, Russia and its neighbor Georgia (also a former Soviet Republic) would now have to endure the horrifying wrath of Islamic terror. The turmoil started in a region called Caucasus. Caucasus is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Lake and contains the nations of Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan (an Islamic nation), and a part of Russia. All four of these countries were of course part of the Soviet Union. In addition to Azerbaijan, Muslims also live in a small part of the Russian part of Caucasus, as well as in a very small part of Georgia (which is a small country itself). Smaller regions in the Caucasus including Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Northern Osetia, Kabardin-

Balkaria, Karachayevo-Cherkessia. The regions of Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia, have a Muslim majority. The regions of Northern Osetia, Kabardin-Balkaria, Karachayevo-Cherkessia also have a lot of Muslims, but Christians make up the majority in all three of these regions. Since 1991, both Chechnya and Dagestan have actively sought independence from Russia.

The Beginnings of Chechen Terrorism

In 1991, Dzhokhar Dudayev, the Republic of Chechnya's nationalist president declared Chechnya independent of Russia. Since the mid and late 1980s, the majority of Muslims in the Soviet Union had begun to take advantage of reforms that were being passed in Russia by beginning to practice Islam. Still, Dudayev failed to unite Chechnya and soon after his declaration of Chechnya's independence from Russia, anarchy erupted in Chechnya. Terrorism against Christian and other minorities, as well as against non-practicing Muslims in Chechnya began to erupt on a small scale. However, there was also no real party in control of Chechnya, hence the Russian government looked the other way, as this allowed for Chechnya to stay a part of Russia.

The First Chechen War

In 1994, after Islamic terrorism escalated in Chechnya, Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent troops to quell the Jihad. This conflict would become known as the First Chechen War. The Russians expected a quick and easy victory. However, by 1994, the Chechens had become well-equipped with weapons and other support from other Islamic countries, especially Arab countries. The Chechens offered heavy resistance to the Russians and the Russians suffered heavy casualties. Only in February of 1995 did the Russians manage to take the Chechen capital of Grozny. During the war, captured Russian soldiers and civilians alike, were tortured and beheaded, much like captured American and other Western soldiers, as well as Western civilians are treated in Iraq today. For the Russians, this war was another Afghanistan and the Russians desperately wanted out of this conflict. Fighting ended in August 1996 when a cease fire agreement was reached. A formal peace treaty was signed in May 1997. By the time the war had ended, it had come to involve the two other Muslim Caucasian regions: Dagestan and Ingushetia to some extent (thought a considerably smaller extent).

Between Wars: Continued Chechen Aggression

Chechen terrorist leader Shamil Basayev.

By the mid-1990s, Al-Qaeda's influence reached Chechnya. Chechen terrorist leader Shamil Basayev became the commander of the "Chechen Armed Forces" in 1996, during the First Chechen War. Until 1998 and 1999, most fighting in Chechnya had taken place within Chechnya and to some extent in Dagestan and Ingushetia. However, when Al-Qaeda and other such groups began to actively aid the Chechens, they finally gained enough resources to widen their campaign to Dagestan, Ingushetia, and eventually major Russian cities. In August 1999, Basayev led a small military force into Dagestan in an attempt to topple the more or less secular pro-Russian government there. The attempt failed and Basayev's end-goal of creating a bigger Islamic republic that would consist of both Chechnya

and Dagestan failed. In response, Russia sent troops to the Chechen-Dagestani border to prevent further instability in Dagestan.

The Second Chechen War

In September of 1999, Chechen terrorists bombed apartment buildings in Dagestan, Volgodonsk, and Moscow. This was the first major Chechen terrorist attack on Russia itself. This prompted Russia to launch a massive invasion of Chechnya in what became known as the Second Chechen War. In this war, Ingushetians also became more involved in aiding the Chechens. In fact, Ingushetia has a large Chechen population and since the mid-1990s, a considerable amount of Ingushetians have been actively involved in supporting the Chechen Jihad against the Russians. This time, the Russians advanced into Chechnya slowly, in order to avoid the high casualties of the First Chechen War. It took the Russians several months to surround the Chechen capital of Grozny and take it. However, just as in the previous war, guerilla warfare was used by the Chechen side. In May of 2000, Russian President Putin reestablished formal Russian rule of Chechnya. Putin appointed Akhmat Kadyrov as the Interim head of the local government the following month. The 'active war' continued through 2002 and has since then begun to die down. However, Chechen terrorism has not.

By 2002, it became evident that Russia's neighbor, Georgia had little control over its very mountainous northern region. Foreign Islamic terrorists had been using Georgian insecurity to get to Chechnya since the mid-1990s.

In addition to this, the Chechens opened major bases and training grounds in the lawless northern Georgian region. This alone greatly increased the ability of the Chechens to commit major terrorist attacks on Russian cities.

On October 23, 2002, forty heavily armed Chechen terrorists, with grenades strapped to them stormed a Russian theater in Moscow taking over seven hundred people hostage (including audience and performers). Some of the performers backstage managed to escape through an open window. For the next three days, the hostages threatened to execute all the hostages unless Russia retreated out of Chechnya. During this hostage crisis, the Chechens released all Muslims present in the theater, but refused to release non-Muslim tourists. Some of the hostages tried to escape, but most of them were

Russian troops and police stand outside the Russian theater, which was taken hostage by Chechen terrorists.

shot and killed by the terrorists. Finally, on October 26, 2002, Russian Special Forces pumped an aerosol anesthetic and then stormed the theater. Nearly all of those inside the theater became unconscious and as a result, only two hostages were killed in the raid. However, another one twenty or so hostages later died in hospitals after the FSB refused to disclose which gas was used in the operation.

An even more barbaric terrorist attack occurred just two years later. September first of every year in every school in the Russian Federation is a "holiday" called the "Day of Knowledge." This "holiday" is celebrated at the school: Students of the school are accompanied by their family members and all are dressed in their best clothes.

Russian troops lead a child away from the school.

The morning of September 1, 2004 seemed just like any other at School Number One in Beslan, Russia. Beslan, a city in the Caucasus region of North Ossetia is located not far from the mostly Muslim region of Ingushetia. Around 9:30 AM local time, a group of about thirty heavily armed Islamic terrorists from all over the world (including Arabs, Chechens, Uzbeks, Tatars, Kazaks, and others) stormed the school. Some were said to be carrying explosive belts. During the initial assault, fifty people escaped from the school while the terrorists exchanged gunfire with police. The children in the school were all between the ages of seven and eighteen; however, because this was September 1, there were plenty of family members of the students in there as well. A total of 1300 people were taken hostage. The terrorists immediately contained all the

1300 hostages into the school gymnasium and then wired it with explosives.

The terrorists then threatened to kill fifty hostages for every terrorist killed by the police or Russian military and twenty hostages for every terrorist wounded. Anyone trying to escape was shot at and the terrorists warned that if the Russians

tried to storm the school, they would blow up the entire gym. In addition to this, the hostages were not allowed to leave the gym even if they needed to go to the bathroom. In fact, the terrorists banned the hostages from even going to the bathroom in the gym itself and they also allowed no food or medical aid into the gym.

After intense negotiations with the terrorists, the terrorists freed twenty six hostages, all of whom were infants and their mothers, in the afternoon of the second day of the crisis. If the mother had two children, the terrorists made them choose only one of them. Negotiations continued and during the afternoon of the third day of the crisis, the terrorists permitted a medical team to

By the time fighting had ended 331 people were dead. More people later died of wounds. As you can see, many of the victims were kids. The Chechen and other Islamic terrorists that were involved in this horrible attack showed no mercy to anyone.

remove bodies from school grounds. However, as the medical workers began to approach the school, the terrorists opened fire on them, instantly killing two and causing the rest to flee. This was followed by two large explosions. At that point, fearing the terrorists had begun to execute the hostages, the Russians ordered their Special Forces and other troops to storm the school. In order to allow the remaining hostages to get out, the Russians blasted some holes in the walls. As the hostages began to get out, the terrorists opened fire. Soon, a battle had ensued and as Russian forces were storming the school, the terrorists were firing at the Russian troops and the hostages, as well as detonating their remaining explosives. As the Russians advanced into the gym and took it over, some of the terrorists managed to escape into the school basement and other areas of the school with some of the hostages. The bitter battle lasted more than two hours and gunfire was still heard in the night.

The Database of Terrorist Websites and eGroups

In the aftermath of the attacks, 331 hostages and 11 Russian troops were confirmed killed. Many of the survivors remained in shock and some of the wounded hostages and troops later died in hospitals. Thirty one of the thirty two terrorists were killed, while one

was captured. Shortly after the attacks, rumors about possible military action in Georgia began to circulate; however Russia never did attack the Chechen bases in Georgia and other areas where the Georgian government had failed to use security measures. On September 17, 2004, Chechen terrorist leaders Shamil Basayev and Aslan

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Maskhadov claimed responsibility for the hostage crisis. Today, the war still continues,

with the terrorists attacking innocent civilians and Russian troops continuing to root out terrorists in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan. In March of 2005, Russian troops killed Aslan Mashkhadov. Shamil Basayev remains at large and continues to lead the Jihad against Russia.

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