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Religious radicalism has no chance to expand in Azerbaijan

1 April 2015 12:55 (UTC+04:00)
Religious radicalism has no chance to expand in Azerbaijan

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Azerbaijan needs to be cautious in view of the extremist provocations on religious ground, a top religious official in Azerbaijan said.

Addressing the event dedicated to the March 31 - Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, Head of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh said there are extremist religious forces, currently acting against Azerbaijan's state policy, some of which are probably funded by Armenia and Armenian extremists.

He called on each person, who has honor and dignity, who is a citizen, an Azerbaijani, a Turkic person, to condemn openly the genocide against Azerbaijanis.

Referring to the repressive policy back in the Soviet period, Pashazadeh said it was not allowed then to visit Turkey because of the deep and fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

"The relations with Turkey were established only after Azerbaijan declared independence from the Soviet empire," he added.

"Today, some seek to sow discord between our people, but all such efforts go in vain. We do not divide Muslims into Shiites and Sunnis. I am against it," Pashazadeh said.

Pashazadeh noted that alongside the Shiites, a split has emerged also among the Sunnis across the world.

"This should not have happened. There is even a rift among Shiites. Some radicals believe that there will be a place for them here in Azerbaijan, where they can enjoy good conditions for their future activities. They will absolutely not achieve their goals. We will destroy radicalism, it has no chance to expand in Azerbaijan," he noted.

In view of recent events in Yemen, Sheikhulislam said unfortunately the Arab countries failed to demonstrate unity against Israel's policy on Palestine, while the League of Arab States now fighting together against Yemen.

Sitting at a crossroad in between two big religious civilizations, Azerbaijan could be viewed as a perfect site to promote various radical and extremist religious thoughts. Nonetheless, the unique tolerance model created in the country under strict supervision of the government has left no room for religious confrontations in Azerbaijan so far.

Head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, Mubariz Gurbanli said earlier on March 15 that Azerbaijan would fight religious radicalism until it has completely disappeared.

Launching an "ousting policy" against all kinds of religious threats, Gurbanli said "Azerbaijani authorities will pulverize completely the forces standing against Azerbaijan's traditional values, as well as attempting to promote its political interests under a religious mask."

The Azerbaijani government views the ethnic and religious diversity in the country as its national wealth. The religious conscience in the country is strictly regulated and protected under the legislation.

Azerbaijan was selected as one of the world's top five tolerant countries on the International Day of Tolerance, on November 16 last year. The tolerance model in Azerbaijan is considered as a leading model for the Muslim world.

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Follow Mushvig Mehdiyev on Twitter: @Mushviggo

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