After "Black Tuesday": Islam and Terrorism in Russia and the CIS

"Black Tuesday," the tragedy that took place in the United States on 11 September 2001, set a new course in the perception of Islam and of terrorism, which is, willy-nilly, connected with Islam. On one hand, in Russia and other CIS countries the leadership, including most leading politicians, having unconditionally supported the efforts of the United States and its allies in their campaign against international terrorism, declare that they do not equate such concepts as "terrorism" and "Muslim." They emphasize that Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan is directed not against Islam but against "the international terrorism entrenched in that country."