New bill will limit the role of the Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO) in the registration of Muslim communities

Baku/01.02.22/Turan: On February 1, the Milli Majlis adopted in the first reading a draft amendment to the law "On freedom of religion". The changes concern the registration of religious communities, the appointment of their leaders, as well as the heads of mosques and shrines, and the rules for accepting donations.

One of the fundamental innovations concerns the registration of Muslim religious communities. So, until now, the Caucasian Muslims Office submitted to the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations an idea about the registration of communities. From now on, the State Committee itself will consider and make decisions on registration.

The OMC, in its statement dated January 27, 2022, regarded these innovations as a continuation of reforms in the field of regulating relations between the state and religion. The OMC called on believers to comply with the new legislative changes, and society - to avoid possible speculations on this topic.

In practice, the executive branch regularly takes certain powers from the hands of religious figures. This trend has been observed for several years, and the executive branch is strengthening its role and influence on the processes in this area.—05B-