Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan’s constitution and law provide for freedom of religion with certain restrictions, a US State Department body has said in its annual report on religious freedoms worldwide.

Constitutional amendments and other legislation passed in 2009 increased restrictions on religious conduct and added new registration requirements for religious groups, claims the International Religious Freedom Report 2010 issued by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on Wednesday.

"Constitutional amendments passed in 2009 limited proselytizing by foreigners, and subsequent legislation required leaders of Islamic rituals to be citizens educated in the country. Additional legislation passed by the Milli Majlis (parliament) in 2009 required all religious communities to re-register in January 2010, and this led to registration problems for many religious communities."

The report also said there was no overall change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the government during the reporting period.

"The government continued to restrict religious freedom in some cases. The government imposed restrictions on the activities of some unregistered Muslim and Christian groups, and there were reports of local officials abusing the rights of some members and congregations."

The report said most religious groups met without government interference; however, local authorities reportedly monitored some religious services, and officials harassed and detained members of Islamic and "nontraditional" religious groups. The Bureau cited reports of monitoring by officials, as well as harassment and detention of both Islamic and Christian groups authorities considered "nontraditional." There were also allegations of discrimination against worshippers based on their religious beliefs, reportedly conducted by local authorities who detained and questioned worshippers without any legal basis and confiscated religious material.

The report also said there were reports of some prejudice against Muslims who converted to other faiths, and there was occasional hostility toward groups that proselytized, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses, evangelical Christians, and other missionary groups.

During the reporting period, U.S. embassy officers engaged with the government to convey concerns about the implementation of the registration process and official treatment of "nontraditional" religious groups, and to express objections to the alleged censorship of religious literature.

According to official estimates, about 96 percent of Azerbaijan’s nine million population is Muslim. The remainder of the population consists mostly of Russian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, followers of other Christian groups, Jews, and nonbelievers.