NOTE: I wrote this about a month ago and it was finally published on Monday so it is kind of dated, but is a good summary. It follows up on my piece about the fitnah that surrounded the Caucasus Emirate in the second half 2010 and first half of 2011 that I wrote about for the Atlantic, which you can read here. Below is the opening paragraph of my new piece for the Central Asia Caucasus Institute Analyst.
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In late July 2011, the Caucasus Emirate’s official media mouthpiece Kavkaz Center announced that the two rival factions within the emirate had reconciled their differences through a Shari’ah court. Aslambek Vadalov and Khusayn Gakayev, as well as other commanders who previously rescinded their bay’at to Doku Umarov, renewed their allegiance. This episode provides further evidence of the decline of Arab fighter influence in the Caucasus jihad, yet paradoxically shows the impact of popular Arab online jihadi shaykhs. It also solidifies Umarov’s pan-Caucasus project as the leading resistance to Russian aggression in contrast to the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria’s claims as the true representatives of the more nationalist-Islamist Chechen struggle.
Read the rest here.
Check out my new article for the Central Asia Caucasus Institute Analyst: "The Reunification of the Caucasus Emirate"
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