Posted on 10/23/2005 1:38:57 PM PDT by baseball_fan
GHIMRI, Russia — A dripping and cavernous tunnel, three miles through the belly of the mountain and lighted only by a spindly strand of dim bulbs, marks the entrance to the land of deep gorges and outlaw villages of the Caucasus range.
Emerging in the bright daylight on the other side is like entering another world, a Russia that is not Russia. Road signs every few feet are bright green with Arabic script: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet." Several dozen signs bear the words of a legendary Caucasian warrior: "He who thinks about consequences is not a hero."
Since the 19th century, Russia has tried to tame the 650 miles of snowy peaks and fertile lowland slopes between the Caspian and Black seas. Today, the Caucasus wars seeping out of Chechnya through the surrounding, predominantly Muslim republics are increasingly being waged under a banner of militant Islam.
This creeping Islamic revolution, analysts suggest, is the latest outcome of the Kremlin's failure to adopt a coherent policy for combating religious extremism in a nation with 23 million Muslims.
Moscow's disorganized and violent attempts to suppress Caucasian Muslim insurgents have swept up thousands of innocent believers in the process. The brutal arrests, police raids and mosque closures appear to be alienating a population that until now had largely sympathized with Russia's attempts to quash terrorist attacks and bring peace to the region.
In areas like this mountainous region of Russia's Dagestan republic, the battle for hearts and minds may be lost...
...snip
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I used to have sympathy for them, and especially for the Chechens, since they have all suffered a lot over the centuries from the Russians.
Beslan changed all that.
Beslan was not the act of an nation, but of a group of individuals. The entire Caucasus deserves freedom and self determination.
I read Caucasian the first time:')
Exactly right.
"I used to have sympathy for them, and especially for the Chechens, since they have all suffered a lot over the centuries from the Russians.
Beslan changed all that."
How to avoid the creation of more Afghanistans under the Taliban?
Wrongo!! This is not the correct translation of this phrase. The correct translation is "There is no god but ALLAH, and Muhammed..."
There's a big difference when it is worded/translated correctly. "Allah" is the name of the Islamic god. "allah" does not mean "god"., "illah" does.
I wonder how these people who support an islamic state in the region will feel when they decide they want one here.
I have a Caucasion Ovcharka, but I've made sure that he's been raised as a good Jewish boy! or maybe I should say as a good Jewish GOY!
Read what you can about the Caucausus and its people. They have been living in that location, with their own languages, culture and traditions, for thousands of years. Islam is a recent addition, something that was adopted to give them strategic allies in their fight against Russian incursion.
Among the many sites you could visit to learn more about Chechnya in particular, its history and people, is this one run by the Russian government: www.chechnyafree.ru. There are plenty of others with strong points of view on the human rights and political situation. Google is very helpful.
If you'd like a link to some recent pop music, Chechen and Russian, with no hint of political content, here it is: http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?section=Vidrus&lng=eng
There is plenty more interesting music and video on this site.
Islam = Animals all I need to know.
Not even conservatism can save you from that particular bad idea, that Islam = Animals.
Chechnya and the Caucasus do not deserve to be the pawns of an international game, in which America "gives" them to Russia in return for Russian "support" against militant Islam.
Chechnya and the rest of that area deserves to be free (from Russia). We push it into the hands of Islamicism by treating it the same way Eastern Europe was treated after World War II -- as a political bargaining chip.
Russia is a nation with 23 million Muslims and better get busy or the games over. They can't afford any PC BS.
And I'm a moderate.
My wife and I have a Russian woman living with us. She is telling us about a Russian Orthodox priest who was "freed" a couple of years ago in Astrakhan.
His head was left on the altar and his body was hung feet up from the cross. They hung him that way to bleed him so they would have "paint" for writing islamic graffiti on the walls.
All the vermin should be exterminated.
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