Azernews.Az

BAKU – Georgian Ambassador in Baku Teymuraz Sharashenidze has reportedly said there were no grounds for concern over the recent establishment of a Muslim clerical body in Georgia or "to interpret its goals and intentions differently".

The establishment of the Georgian Muslims Office fulfilling the tasks previously vested in Azerbaijan’s senior clerical body has drawn strongly worded statements from the Caucasus Muslims Office (CMO) itself and the Azerbaijani state body on religious organizations. The CMO chairman, Sheikhulislam Haji Allahshukur Pashazada, said the Georgian Muslims Office aimed to "turn the Muslims living in the country away from Azerbaijan", while head of the State Committee on Religious Organizations, Hidayat Orujov, said its establishment has aggravated Azerbaijanis living in Georgia.

Ambassador Sharashenidze noted that the Georgian Muslims Office is not a state body, but a non-governmental organization.

"It has nothing to do with religion," he said. "This entity will be merely working to improve the lives of Georgia’s Muslims."