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The article examines three processes, running parallel in time, that have contributed to the Islamization of the Chechen separatist movement. The first war in Chechnya between 1994 & 1996 resulted in the radicalization of several Chechen warlords & politicians. These individuals came to play an influential role during the interwar period & have increasingly defined the rhetoric & language of the separatists in the second war. This local impetus toward radicalism was reinforced by the attempts on the part of international Islamists to co-opt the Chechen conflict as part of their global struggle. At the same time the Russian policies on Chechnya have become increasingly hard & uncompromising, not least after the advent of the global war on terror. The article argues that these processes have contributed to marginalize the moderate players in the Chechen separatist movement & have rendered the conflict so polarized that there is little hope for peaceful resolution. 42 References. Adapted from the source document.