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Abbas Ganbay

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In the article "Freedom for Extremism or Freedom from Extremism? Critical Problems with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom", published by the Jewish Journal, says that Azerbaijan is characterised as an oasis of tolerance, Azernews reports.

"Azerbaijan's inclusion on the U.S. State Department's so-called "special watch list" on religious freedom based on a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was perplexing. Since Azerbaijan is a secular republic where the majority of the population is Muslim and which has also been home to Jewish and Christian communities since ancient times."

The publication notes that the world's leading media often characterize Azerbaijan as an "oasis of tolerance", stressing that one of the components of this achievement is the fact that official Baku "does not allow extremism to penetrate and operate in the country".

The author also notes that one of USCIRF's top staffers is Danielle Ashbakhian, formerly the communications director of the Armenian Assembly of America, one of the two main Armenian lobbying groups in the U.S. known for its anti-Azerbaijani campaigns.

"The question we should be asking USCIRF is what in the world should countries like Azerbaijan be doing differently? And why does the U.S. favour peaceful democratic countries to begrudgingly tolerate the infiltration of foreign extremists?", the author of the article wondered.

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