Responding to the martyrdom Monday, July 10, 2006, of Chechen Mujahideen commander, Shamil Basayev, Hussein bin Mahmoud, a Muslim scholar who supports the Mujahideen, composed and distributed a message titled: "Eagle of the Caucusus". The piece contains a historical retelling of both the Chechen Jihad and the force by which the Russians over time and regimes, including Catherine the Great, Joseph Stalin, and Vladimir Putin, sought to crush its opposition and leadership. Mahmoud also presents a biography of Basayev, tracking his growth from his birthplace in Vedeno in 1965, though his experience in Khost, Afghanistan, hostage kidnapping operation in Budennovsk in 1995, and exemplar of military command for his role in the Grozny assault.
Concerning the incident of Shamil Basayev's death, Hussein bin Mahmoud cites the circumstance of Ibn al-Khattab's death via a poisoned letter, and speculates that it happened by accident; that the Russians take only to "cowardice" and therefore were too fearful to approach the "Eagle of the Caucasus and his lethal talons". Basayev's military mind and prowess, in Mahmoud's opinion, should merit his placement above Sun Tzu, Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Che Gievara and Napoleon, and his operations, such as in Grozny, should be taught in war colleges.
The message celebrates Basayev rather than offering condolences, as Hussein bin Mahmoud further writes that the Chechen commander would look forward to martyrdom, placing one eye on his enemies and another at the sky. Mahmoud then warns that Jihad does not cease with the death of an individual, for in years past the Russians killed Jawhar Dudayev, Aslan Maskhadov, Abu al-Walid al-Ghamdi, Abu Omar al-Saif, and "Sword of Islam Khattab" and jihad did not waver. He writes: "The power of this religion is not imprisoned in a body, for it is a spiritual force that moves from body to body and person to person, for there was Dudayev, and then Khattab, then Abu Walid, then Shamil, and there will be others who will come to carry the banner after them. Their power will be focused in one man who will be even more ferocious and deadlier to his enemies using their experiences and abilities, so let the Russians have their little joy, for they will cry much.." , SITE Institute writes.
Kavkaz Center
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