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A.C.N - Aid to the Church in Need Italian Office |
Religious Freedom in
the Majority Islamic Countries |
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Azerbaijan Population:
7,617,000
The constitution of Azerbaijan does not envisage a state religion and it provides for liberty of practice for other religions. However, anti-Armenian sentiment has forced a large proportion of Armenians to leave, and this has led to the closure of churches. In 1996 a law was introduced forbidding foreigners from engaging in proselytism. Azerbaijan, dominated by its neighbours for thousands of years, has spent most of the 20th century under the Soviet Union, from which it broke away only in 1991. The Christian population is Armenian and Russian, but many have left the country following the massacre of 1989. In theory there is religious liberty, but the nationalists are becoming more and more anti-Christian as a result of Islamic fundamentalism. With the end of communism it seemed that a time of greater peace had been reached, also from the religious point of view, without persecutions and with the assistance of a law - passed in 1992 - which imposed the separation of religion and state. The only group which did not take advantage of this was the Armenian Church, owing to the continuing tensions over the region of Nagorny Karabakh. But all this lasted only for a short time. The ruling political forces now seem to wish to reassume their domination over religion. Even Islam, which is the major religion, is subject to controls because the president fears a growing power on the part of neighbouring Iran, above all through the threat of the introduction of the Shia, the Islamic tradition characteristic of Iraq. In May 1996 the leader of the Islamic Party was arrested on charges of spying. In the same year the first religious restrictions were introduced. All the mosques have to respect the instructions of the Muslim Commission of the country and eject the fundamentalists. Even the religious press is subject to control. These restrictions obviously affect the other religions likewise. According to the journal Frontier, it is not permitted today to preach anything other than Azeri Islam; foreigners are not allowed to bring propaganda items into the country, while the Christians have been accused of having occupied the best sites in Baku for their missionary purposes. One of the most numerically strong Protestant communities in the capital, consisting of some 600 persons, has been refused official registration because in some points of its statutes it conflicted with the law on religion. They have been merely permitted to continue their activity, however without any guarantee. The American ambassador has on a number of occasions denounced the discrimination towards the Christians, and opposed the campaign against the missionary groups. |
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