(Weekly Standard-FrontPageMagazine) Stephen Schwartz - The main culprits in Beslan were Islamic extremists. Since at least 1999, these violent fanatics, with backing from the Wahhabi sect of Saudi Arabia and financial support from radicals throughout the global Muslim community, have assiduously agitated to take over the Chechen national movement. The participation of "Arabs" - meaning Saudis and other Wahhabi-influenced Muslim foreigners - is a constant in reportage and comment on Beslan and earlier terrorist incidents in Chechnya, as well as in neighboring Ingushetia, in Georgia, and in Russia itself. In mosques across the globe, from New York to Nairobi, Wahhabi extremists collect money and recruits for combat in Chechnya, which at times overshadows Iraq as a symbol of so-called martyrdom.
2004-09-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive