Dead Russian spy to be buried as a Muslim and its implications

Culture for All has been following the odd unfolding tale of Alexander Litvinenko very closely. The latest development is that the Russian spy will be buried as a Muslim, having converted soon before his death. Read about it. C4A readers might be confused - why would he have converted to Islam, and does this have anything to do with his death? Well, I cannot speak with certainty as to WHY he converted to Islam - that was his personal choice. But I believe that he converted due to his connection to Chechnya. Lest we forget, Alexander Litvinenko was researching the death of Anna Politkovskaya when he was poisoned. Ms. Politkovskaya herself was researching the Russian government's practices in Chechnya. (see her book on this conflict) Let's take a moment to examine the conflict in Chechnya. In brief: it is a seperation movement of a majority Muslim province of Russia. The Russian government has brutally suppressed the seperation movement, and cracked down on human rights in the area. However, the Chechens have responded by widespread terror, the most inexcusable and vile being the Beslan school shooting, an event that still tears at my soul. Chechen seperatists also have ties to worldwide terror. (read views on that right here) So, what is my opinion about Russia and Putin? It is a nation ruled by a man who is increasingly Stalin-esque, coldly murdering opponents. (I really believe he was behind Politkovskaya's murder, as well as Litvinenko's) Is he a real ally in the war on Islamofascism? One would think that he would be, with his problems with Chechnya. And yet he is not. He is a disgusting hypocrite, condemning Israel for their acts in Lebanon and questioning their motives, while brutally suppressing the Chechens in his own land. Mark Katz wrote a column on Putin - showing him to be more pro-Israel than most of Europe. This is probably due to Chechnya. At the same time, he sold anti-aircraft missiles to Iran and Syria. He has criticized Israel for 'overkill' while practicing 'overkill' twenty-fold in Chechnya. (read some of Politkovskaya's work) And then, of course, there is Putin's support for North Korea and Iran! It has been like pulling teeth to get a UN resolution on North Korea and Iran - due to China and Russia's obfuscating. [ref] What does all this mean? The bottom line is that I have sympathy with neither the Russians nor the Chechens. Perhaps the war in Chechnya is part of the same global 'war on terror' that we are all so obsessed with. But in any case, the way Russia has been fighting the war is not defensible, and they have not shown they are true allies to the West. In short: they can all burn in non-existent hell! (by all, I mean the Chechen rebels and Putin and his cronies)