" The army of the Beast is made up of diverse armies and united only by opposition to the good. The battle appears to be that of Armeggedon"
Chechen leaders’ relatives say stop terrorism, punish massacre perpetrators
AsiaNews.it ^ | September 7, 2004 | Staff
Posted on 09/09/2004 10:26:08 PM CDT by Luis Gonzalez
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1211655/posts?page=19
Moscow (AsiaNews) – Events in Beslan have had an unusual and unexpected impact in Chechnya. The local population, which had largely backed the actions by Chechen terrorists, seems to have turned against them. Separatists’ families, including those of anti-Russian resistance leaders such as Maskhadov, Basayev, Umarov –who are thought to have orchestrated the Beslan attack– have publicly condemned the actions of their relatives.
Pamzan and Ruslan Maskhadov, cousins of former Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov called on him to end terrorism. “Today, life is back to normal in the Chechen Republic. It is possible to work and receive a salary,” the two brothers said. “Consequently, the reasons for terror are neither present nor justified.” They urged Mashkadov to put an end to his actions once and for all and stop the gangs “who have killed hundreds of innocent children.” They also asked Ossetians for forgiveness.
Zholzan Abdulkadyrova, Aslan Maskhadov’s sister, appealed to her brother telling him to stop the crimes against helpless people. In the early phase of the Beslan crisis, Ms Abdulkadyrova had offered herself as a hostage in place of the children held. “Chechens,” she said, “do not want to be the enemies either of Ossetians, Ingushs or Russians.”
Junus Kurazov, deputy mufti in Chechnya’s Vedensky district and husband to Shamil Basayev’s cousin, expressed his solidarity with the people of North Ossetia. “These child-killing gangsters are terrorists and should be punished. These people will never receive forgiveness for their sins; only Almighty Allah might do it.” He added that “terrorism has no national or ethnic colour. Whoever they are, no matter their nationality, ethnicity or religion, they should be punished.”
(snip)
Russian Muslims Rally Against Terror
IslamOnline.net ^ | Sept. 8, 2004
Posted on 09/09/2004 9:29:26 AM CDT by nuconvert
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1210981/posts?page=9
Russian Muslims Rally Against Terror
By Damir Ahmad, IOL Correspondent
MOSCOW, September 8 (IslamOnline.net) – Up to 40,000 Russian Muslims took part Tuesday, September 7, in a nationwide rally in protest at the hostage-taking school tragedy in the southern city of Beslan that claimed the lives of hundreds of people, mostly children.
In Moscow, the anguished protesters stood still for a moment of silence on the Red Square in memory of the victims of Beslan and the two Russian airliners that crashed south of Moscow on August 25, killing 90 people aboard.
The demonstrators, who reached 15,000 people, waved banners reading: “Terror-free Russia”, “Real human beings do not target children”, “Keep your hands off our children” and “All Russians make it clear: We are against terrorism”.
The mass rally was called for by the Russian television Monday, September 6 and was organized by a pro-government trade union.
It came as the residents of grief-stricken Beslan held a third day of funerals for at last the 336 victims.
All but one of the 32 hostage-takers and at least 336 people, half of them children, died after Russian troops stormed the school Friday, September 3.
The Russian government has admitted that it lied to its people about the scale of the crisis.
‘Not Muslims’
The deputy chief of Russia’s Council of Muftis, Izzatullah Damir Hezrat, said the perpetrators of the “terrorist hostage-takers have nothing to do with Islam”.
“They are not Muslims at all, rather they are criminals,” Hezrat told the crowd massing at the Red Square.
“Those who killed innocent people, not to mention children, are doomed to the Hellfire. They wanted to spark a religious strife in the Caucasus. But their malicious schemes would prove futile as the entire Russian people stand united against terrorism.”
He said hundreds of Muslims representing their community in Russia performed funeral prayers Tuesday in solidarity with the victims’ families and leave the impression that they do feel for them.
“We will be missing you and always remember you in our prayers,” Hezrat added.
The Council of Muftis has already condemned the tragedy as “a terrorist act that Islam totally refuses and forbids”.
The religious council for North Caucasian Muslims said the hostage taking is “a heinous terrorist crime” that inflicted pain and suffering on families of the hostages.