Inappropriate bans cause religious radicalism

Question: President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the implementation of the amendments introduced by the Milli Majlis to the Law on Freedom of Religion. What significant changes are provided in this law?

Answer: The decree itself is of a technical nature. That is, it is connected with the implementation of changes in the specified law. The main thing is the changes made to the law. Their main essence is the strengthening of state control over religious institutions in the country. Religious education, mass religious worship, rituals, names of religious institutions, their charter, territory of activity, relations in matters of religion between parents and children, etc.

Question: The amendments to the law state that forcing children to practice religion is prohibited.  This change has  caused much discussion. Why do you think this provision has generated so much discussion?

Answer: Yes, the following provision is included in the law: “Parents or other legal representatives may, by mutual consent, raise children in accordance with their religious beliefs and attitude to religion. It is forbidden to force children to practice religion. Religious education of children should not negatively affect their physical and mental health.”

This topic is causing serious debate everywhere. Because there is no unambiguous understanding of either religion or secularism. Countries, religions, believers, deists and atheists all have different views on these issues. However, the root of the problem goes much deeper. Modern concepts of secularism and religion are largely the fruit of the ideas of the enlighteners of Christian countries. They also, naturally, built their theories to a greater extent against Christianity (for example, this is why atheists currently consider the Middle Ages a period of ignorance, because in the Christian world this is really so, and in the Muslim world, on the contrary, the early centuries of religion were a period of the rise of science and art). Therefore, religion for them is primarily rituals: going to church on Sunday, etc. In Judaism and Islam, religion is not only rituals, but also a legal system, specific norms.

In our society, these discussions are increasingly caused by this contradiction in views. By "forcing children to practice religion" our law means rituals that correspond to the theory of thinkers of purely Christian countries. For example, forcing a child to pray, fast, etc. Because these are rituals within the framework of the dominant concept in question.

Another part of this provision states: "parents or other legal representatives may, by mutual consent, raise children in accordance with their religious beliefs and attitude to religion." This means that, of course, each parent can raise their child in accordance with their religious beliefs, for example, they can prohibit eating pork, determine what books the child can read, how they can dress (but wearing a hijab for girls can already be equated to the rite). But this right is not unlimited. Therefore, this provision concludes: "The religious education of children should not have a negative impact on their physical and mental health."

Thus, such a broad discussion of the issue was due to the fact that some believers do not fully understand what the state means by religion. Because, as I said, upbringing for a Muslim is also a religion. But it is natural that the state does not imply intervention in education within a certain framework. It's not even possible. This was not possible even in the USSR, which was the most atheistic and secular state in history. For example, in the days of the USSR, both Muslims and Jews performed the rite of circumcision of boys. Although this is not only a matter of education, but also a ritual. Nobody even thinks to ask the child if he wants it or not. From the point of view of secularism, there is violence here. But at the same time, and now no one perceived and will not perceive the performance of this rite as forcing a child to worship. Why? Because it is done by the absolute majority of the country's population.

Here we come to an important conclusion. In every society, the concepts of religion and secularism are relative and depend on the religious attachment of the population. The more this attachment is, the more the state will understand secularism in a narrower sense. Azerbaijan is the least religiously attached country among the countries whose population is considered to be Muslim. Overall, we are one of the world leaders in terms of weak adherence to religion. Only our names are Muslim. They also say that we are Shiites. Nevertheless, it is possible that today there are more Sunnis among our believers than Shiites. It's just that no one has researched this issue.

Since people who are not associated with religion make up the absolute majority of our population, therefore, the state acts strictly in accordance with their views on religion. Most do not pray, do not fast, do not wear hijabs, which means that no one should force their child to do the same. But, most of the boys do circumcision - which means there is no problem here.

Question: How can a secular country accept such an article? After all, Azerbaijan is not a religious state?

Answer: This situation is normal even from the point of view of the Koran. Verse 256 of Surah al-Baghdadi says: "There is no compulsion in religion." But, as I said above, each country has its own approach to the boundaries of religion and secularism. There are such Jewish and Christian countries as Israel, Poland, Greece, etc., in which the level of secularism is much lower than ours. In our country, too, secularism is not absolute. For example, we celebrate Ramadan and Eid al-Adha as religious holidays.

At the inauguration ceremony, the President, along with the text of the official oath, puts his hand on the Koran and says: “I swear that I will be faithful to the national spiritual values ​​and traditions created by the Azerbaijani people for centuries, I will always be guided by them. And finally, according to Article 8 of the Law "On Freedom of Religion", Islamic religious communities are subject to the governance of the Muslims of the Caucasus. That is, the most unfree religious communities in Azerbaijan are the Muslim communities. Although secularism in the classical sense implies the separation of religion from the state. This is also enshrined in the Article 18 of our Constitution. By the way, in Europe the concept of secularism appeared, first of all, in order to rid religious communities from state dependence, while in our country Muslim communities are subordinate to the administration of the Muslims of the Caucasus, which is a quasi-state structure.

Question: By the way, isn't the incline of a child, to any religion a compulsion, violence?

Answer: According to Article 48 of the Constitution, everyone has the right to freedom of conscience. No one can be forcibly coerced into any religion, including a child. History shows that the consequences for such believers are tragic. For example, the forced religious education in the childhood of Stalin and Ataturk led to the formation of a negative attitude towards religion in them. As a result, believers in the USSR and Turkey became victims of anti-religious repression.

At the same time, the desire of a parent to see his child as an adherent of his religion and beliefs is understandable. If a liberal wants his child to be a liberal, why can't a Muslim want his child to be a Muslim? Naturally, when a parent brings up his child in accordance with his religion, then there are no problems. The main thing is that there is no violence and that this religion (trend) does not humiliate human dignity and does not contradict the principles of humanism. But the state should not impose inappropriate prohibitions.

Question: How should a secular state regulate this issue so that people's rights are not violated, so that the psychological and physical health of children is not harmed?

Answer: First of all, educational work must be properly organized. At school, children need to be taught the history of religions so that they do not fall under the influence of both radical believers (for whom those who have no religious convictions are enemies) and radical atheists (for whom every bearded man or woman in a hijab is a terrorist). Second, do not allow them to fall prey to radical parents. TV channels should pay attention to this issue. Because this is a very delicate issue. The state can interfere in the relationship between parents and children only in exceptional cases. Both parents and children should understand these points. Unnecessary prohibitions should also not be allowed. Imagine we have such a problem as hijab passport photography. Even in most Christian countries there is no such problem. In Azerbaijan, the threat of religious radicalism is greatly exaggerated and some officials are imposing inappropriate bans. It got to the point that some mosques have been closed for many years. In fact, such moves lead to religious radicalism.

Kamran Mahmudov