The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published a report a few months ago on Azerbaijan which was flabbergasting, to say the least. The US Department of State then went on to blacklist Azerbaijan as a country that engages in violation of religious freedom. One can’t help but think of Kozma Prutkov’s famous saying: ‘If you see a ‘buffalo’ sign on an elephant’s cage, do not trust your eyes’. Anyone who has been to Azerbaijan even once and is aware of the situation in the country finds these decisions nothing short of a misunderstanding.

The report claims that Azerbaijani government violates the law on religious freedom, does not register religious communities, and restricts religious literature, propaganda, or missionary activity. Most provisions relate to politics rather than religion. For example, the imprisonment of the Muslim Union Movement leaders, a foreign-funded extremist organization, is not even worth mentioning. Radical religious institutions are considered a threat all over the world, with adequate measures taken against them. But we can and must talk of the remaining issues raised in the report.

History and Geography

Azerbaijan historically has seen no religious discrimination, which is mainly due to geography. Rizvan Huseynov , Historian and Head of Centre for Caucasian History says , geography determines the consciousness of the local population . Our landscape mainly comprises lowlands and intermontane terrains. The region has been at the crossroads of all routes for millennia. Communities living in such geographies must absolutely be tolerant, because their lives and income depend on it. This is also why mountainous communities are much stricter about issues of ethnicity, confession, and such. People living on the coast and islands are different. Those living in the steppes, plains, and at the crossroads realize that their safety, income and well-being depend on establishing warm relationships with everyone. Religion also takes shape following the demands of geography.

History confirms geography: Azerbaijan has never in its history seen confessional wars like in Europe. The church has been the foundational factor in shaping the national consciousness in Europe. Every community used to have its own church. These churches produced national projects as society shifted to capitalism. These forces did not even hesitate to commit massacres to snatch the monopoly from the Vatican. We do not have a tradition of religious conflicts as we’ve not had such cases in our history. Europe, the USA, and the Tsarist Russia artificially planted religious problems in the Ottoman Empire and our lands. They employed the religious factor to incite the Armenians, Eastern Christian communities, and the Christians in the Balkans against the Muslims-Turks. Unfortunately, the same policy continues, albeit having slightly shapeshifted.

The attitude towards other confessions remains unchanged to this day. Our religious tolerance can set an example for many countries around the world even in modern times. Representatives of religious minorities in the country confirm this and the conditions created for them speak for themselves.

‘Azerbaijan is our home’

‘I have headed the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan for over 14 years. Azerbaijan is a modern secular state that respects and encourages national traditions, spiritual and cultural diversity in society’, says Bishop Vladimir Fekete, the Apostle Prefect of the Catholic  Church in Azerbaijan in his interview to AzVision.az.

The bishop adds that Azerbaijan deserves special attention as a rare example of good interaction among religious communities and harmony between religion and secular government.

Robert Mobili, Chairman of the Albanian-Udi Christian community, invited the representatives of the US Department of State to Azerbaijan to see the situation for themselves. He has also held numerous meetings at the State Department as a part of the official delegation to discuss the matter.

‘Our community performs our rituals in Albanian. How can one ever talk of curtailing religious freedoms in Azerbaijan under such conditions?’, Robert Mobili questions.

Archimandrite Alexy Nikonorov, secretary of the Baku diocese, rector at the Cathedral of the Holy Myrrh Bearers says that Azerbaijani society offers a unique tolerant atmosphere, where the state pays special attention to cultural diversity while guaranteeing rights and freedoms to all citizens regardless of their religious or national affiliation.

‘Azerbaijan boasts unique centuries-old experience of peaceful coexistence, interaction, and creative collaboration among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Azerbaijan has traditionally been famous as a home for many peoples. The country does not have the problems that hinder development or interreligious dialogue among citizens in so many parts of the world’, the archimandrite explains.

The situation with the Jews is particularly interesting. The thesis of ‘guilty Jews’ made up the core of Christian ideology historically. Persecuted, oppressed, and expelled from Europe, they took refuge with the Ottomans and the Safavids. They have since felt at ease and comfortable on these lands.

Milikh Yevdayev, Head of the Mountain Jews Community in Baku mentions that all religious communities in Azerbaijan receive financial support from the state, which not only guarantees freedom of religious beliefs but also plays an important role in protecting cultural and religious diversity. 

AzVision.az prepared a report from the Synagogue of Mountain Jews in Baku to witness the conditions Yevdayev describes and see how freely and comfortably they can perform religious rites here. ‘Happy are those who are happy at home. Azerbaijan is our home’, we were told at the synagogue.

‘Religious Minority’ is an alien term

‘The State Committee for Work with Religious Institutions has registered 1002 communities. 7 communities have cancelled their own registration. 37 out of the operating 995 were founded by communities outside Islam. These are 24 Christian, 8 Jew, 2 Bahai, and 1 Krishna congregations.

Jahandar Alifzada, head of the department for work with religious organizations under the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations says in his interview to AzVision.az that the legislation includes enough conditions for everyone to operate freely. Equality of all confessions and freedom of religion have been established in our constitution. The representatives of non-Muslim religious communities in Azerbaijan are active members of the society. They build houses of worship, organize events, perform religious ceremonies and promote their work.

‘Religious minority is an alien term for us. I have never heard a religious community call itself a ‘minority’ in Azerbaijan in my 16 years at the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations. Regardless of their size, they all see themselves as a part of the religious environment in Azerbaijan, members of a harmonious society that perform a certain function. We do not have notions of ‘minority’ or ‘majority’ when it comes to religion. We have the concept of ‘equal rights’. All religious communities in the country see it that way. No one in our society calls them a ‘minority’ as well,’ the head of the department notes. 

There is a law on religious freedom in Azerbaijan. Be it as it may, neither the Committee nor the law enforcement agencies have received any complaints on violation of freedoms of religious communities.

Sui Iuris

We found the confirmation of the above at the Church of the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception. The Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan is a unit equal to Roman Catholic Church diocese. It has a sui iuris (of one’s own right) status, operating with the rights and powers of a diocese. Vicar General Joseph Marek, head of the church, says to AzVision.az that he considers being in a tolerant country such as Azerbaijan God’s grace: ‘What I like most is how much respect people have for the individual and one’s faith. They embrace and respect people for who they are. People do not only hold in high esteem the traditional spirituality based on Islamic values, but also other religions and worldviews. Both Catholics and other Christians can live and practice their faith freely here. Representatives of various confessions coexist peacefully in Azerbaijan.’

Vicar General still vividly remembers the day Pope John Paul II was welcomed in Azerbaijan 22 years ago:

‘I was astonished, so much so that I asked several people of the reason for such a nice welcome. It was their turn to be surprised, as they all replied that the visitor was a holy person. I found it simply amazing. People had great respect and sympathy for representatives of other religions!’

Both people and facts, everything apparently, confirm Azerbaijan having no problems in religious relations. Unlike most Western countries, the country has never witnessed a religious conflict. Milikh Yevdayev, Head of the Mountain Jews Community in Baku, recounts a most interesting episode:

‘I once was at an important event in France, attended by over 400 people. The Paris rabbi there said that they became French when they went out and could only be Jews at home. When I was given the floor, I addressed the rabbi and said that in Azerbaijan we had the privilege to be a Jew both inside and outside our homes, unlike them.’

If so, what could be the reason for such prejudice against Azerbaijan in the report?

Because the devil says so

The heads of religious communities say that although the visitors from abroad have perfectly witnessed the situation here with their own eyes, it has all been to no avail. They simply record the negative comments they wish. And as they do so, they reference dubious persons and sources rather than the leaders of religious communities. They say, for example, that people over 65 in Azerbaijan are restricted to make the Hajj pilgrimage. Whereas this restriction has nothing to do with Azerbaijan. It was imposed by Saudi Arabia, the organizers of the Hajj, with consideration for people’s health.

Or else, the report says that Azerbaijan does not allow protestants or evangelists to create religious communities. However, the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations has not received any applications in recent years.

The report also mentions the religious monuments in the liberated territories. The Christian monuments on those lands can be generally classified into three groups:

• Ancient Albanian monuments,
• Orthodox and Armenian churches built there under Tsarist Russia, i.e. in the last 200 years,
• Armenian churches built within 30 years of occupation.

Removing, even destroying in some cases, symbols of Armenian fascism from the buildings erected during occupation is an absolute must. These buildings are treated the same all over the world. Some of them can be restored to their true essence. The former Orthodox church in Shusha had been transformed into an Armenian one during occupation. It is currently being restored to its previous shape.

As for the Albanian-Christian monuments, which constitute a part of our history, most of them are included in the heritage list under protection by the Cabinet of Ministers. How can one suggest that Azerbaijan may be willing to destroy its own historic-cultural heritage? There is not a single fact of destruction of any churches or temples after our territories were recovered! Whereas, neither the USA nor any other western country or institution uttered a single word while over 60 of our mosques and other religious-cultural sites were destroyed during 30 years of occupation. The same barbaric behaviour continues towards Islamic cultural monuments in West Azerbaijani territories, which are a part of Armenia, in Zangazur, Goycha, and Irevan. Meanwhile, UNESCO refuses to monitor those lands.

Conclusion

All experts and representatives of religious communities we reached out to are of the same opinion: comments on religious situation in Azerbaijani are absolutely biased. Such reports are a product of political orders with the goal of building a foundation for harsher steps against Azerbaijan in the future. They are, in a way, trying to intervene in the processes in the country and in the entire region, if we are to speak in a broader sense, through religion.

History, however, shows that employing religion for political purposes has always backfired. Religion is a matter of spirituality and must remain so.