Residents of the village of Mekhtiabad in Azerbaijan are against harassment of believers

Yesterday, on May 19, a group of residents of the village of Mekhtiabad in Azerbaijan held an action of protest in front of the mosque "Teze Pir" in which the Directorate of Caucasian Moslems (DCM) is located.

An APA employee who was on the spot reports that the participants stated that two days earlier Vugar (unfortunately, his family name could not be established), Mekhtiabad village militia officer, while being intoxicated came up to the "Ekhli Beit" village shop selling religious goods, offended its saleswoman and scattered her goods.

Leaders of various religious organizations, including Ilgar Ibraghimoglu from the Centre of protection of religious belief and the freedom of conscience (CPRBFC), took part in the action.

I. Ibraghimoglu reported to the APA that a group of young believers had addressed him several weeks before and claimed that they were being harassed: "Two persons demanded that we stop the prayer and our visits to the Turkish mosque located in the village. So they complained to me. Two days ago I learned that the village militia officer entered the "Ekhli Beit" shop and offended Fatima Khanum, its saleswoman. On the same day, the militiaman visited the chaikhana where believers had gathered, and beat and offended one of them."

I. Ibraghimoglu stated that a number of religious organizations, including Rafig Aliev, chairman of the State Committee on work with religious associations, condemned the incident: "We must assess the incident and punish the village militia officer."

According to Raig Gashimov, participant in the action, on May 21, 4 unidentified persons forced him into their car and took his in an unknown direction: "They wanted me to give them the names of Persians who finance us. I told them that I am a believer and I am not connected with anyone. After that they released me and demanded that I keep silent about the incident. Today, law enforcement officers have prohibited me to visit the mosque. This is a Turkish mosque. We do not speak there ."

Notably, although a militia unit was summoned, they did not interfere with the events. The participants of the action noted that the event was being held in front of the DCM in order that Sheichulislam Allahshukur Pashazade could express his attitude to the issue and settle the problem.

Then two participants in the action entered the DCM and submitted their complaint, after which the participants dispersed. Several participants reported to the APA that the events in Mekhtiabad acquired a serious character, a confrontation between Sunnites and Shiites was growing. According to him, the incident was an indication of the confrontation: "We have held similar actions twice. The situation in our village is intolerable. The issue must be urgently settled."

The DCM reported to the APA that the issue was going to be investigated and all necessary measures to settle the problem would be taken.

For reference, "The Weekly Standard" newspaper writes that clashes between Sunnites and Shiites took place in 1999 in the town of Goichai, North Azerbaijan. Trying to suppress the growing influence of Islam, President Aliev formed the State Committee on the Religious Affairs in 2001. It is responsible for monitoring all religious activity in Azerbaijan.

Next year, what started as a protest against poor operation of utilities in the town of Nardaran, approximately 10 miles to the east of Baku where the temple in honour of the wife of the seventh imam (place of pilgrimage of Shiites) and the headquarters of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan are located, grew into a bloody clash between the townsmen and hundreds of policemen. Today, women in Nardaran wear black headscarves as is traditional in Iran, and their homes are decorated with frescos featuring raised hands holding swords from which blood drops, and such aphorisms as "There is no God except Allah!"

Late in 2003, Ilgar Ibrahim-ogly, imam of the Baku mosque "Djuma" located in the Old quarters (referred to as the Azeri Khomeini), and members of his community were ousted from the city on the charge of political agitation. (In Azerbaijan, all religious leaders are prohibited to take part in political activity.) Later, the mosque was occupied by the Museum of Carpets.