Hundreds of thousands of Muslims vented their anger in unison, shouting, "Allahu akbar!" as their leader condemned supporters of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo after militants murdered five of its cartoonists.
The protest against caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad and the policies of the U.S. and its allies was organized by the state and televised live across the country for more than an hour. But it wasn't in Iran or Pakistan. It was in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin came to power vowing to "wipe out" Muslim extremists, even "in the outhouse."
Fifteen years later, Putin is now seeking to turn Muslim anger to his advantage by pushing for a united front against what he considers to be a U.S.-led conspiracy to dominate the world.