Gurbanli: Religious Radicals Driven by Material Interests

Members of radical extremist groups are by no means believers. Most of them join the radicals due to material interest.

Such an opinion in an interview with the Voice of America was expressed by the head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Communities Mubariz Gurbanli.

He did not agree with the opinion that people go to the ranks of the radicals because of social injustice. In his opinion, the main motive is a material interest and desire to earn.

Secondly, in the extremist groups there are young adventurers who want to get acquainted with women under the banner of sexual jihad.

Gurbanli believes the true number of religious fanatics is very small. According to him, 70% of the ISIS people are not related to religion and are banal international robbers.

According to him, in Azerbaijan the struggle against religious radicalism is conducted in three areas: in the ideological, economic and legal dimensions. The fight is conducted systematically in conjunction with other structures.

Distortion of religion generates two negative phenomena - obscurantism and radicalism. At one time a large role in the fight against this was played by the prominent Azerbaijani educators Jalil Mamedgulizadeh, Mirza Alakbar Sabir and Nariman Narimanov. And today there is a need for intellectuals to fight against obscurantism.

An important role in the fight against religious radicalism is played by deprivation of their economic base.

In ideological terms, the struggle is to explain the fact that the radicals have no relation to Islam. At the same time law enforcement agencies identify and bring to justice those who involve youth in the ranks of the radicals.

What measures are taken to prevent the spread of radicalism in Azerbaijan? In answering this question, Gurbanli noted educational work. Only in the last year we implemented 102 projects in this area through the religious communities themselves.

Simultaneously conducted is coordination with the relevant religious structures of Iran, Turkey, Georgia and Central Asia.

To eradicate the religious radicalism, it is necessary to bring the Islamic values ​​for what they really are to the believers.

In this direction SCWRC acts in close cooperation and on the basis of a joint plan with the Caucasus Muslims Office.

However, Gurbanli did not comment the arrest of an Azerbaijani citizen on charges of involvement in the terrorist attack at the Istanbul airport, citing a lack of thorough information. -06D-