The Azerbaijani state fights against religious radicalism, M. Gurbanli

Baku / 30.04.18 / Turan: Mubariz Gurbanli, the head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations (SCWRO), rejected criticism of the religious situation in Azerbaijan, stated in the annual report of the US Commission on Religious Freedom in the World.

In an interview with the Azerbaijani service of the Voice of America, he said that the errors in the reports of previous years were repeated again, despite the comments of the Azerbaijani side.

The Azerbaijani Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religion, there is an atmosphere of tolerance and tolerance in the country, and representatives of various religious groups act freely, he said.

Therefore, allegations of persecution of citizens for religious beliefs and Muslim groups that are not acceptable to the authorities are untrue, Gurbanli said.

According to him, 96% of the country's population are Muslims; 809 religious communities have been registered, of which 777 are Muslim. At the same time, he noted that the state is combating religious radicalism with administrative, ideological and economic methods.

If you do not fight the radicals, then their activities can lead to conflicts and clashes between different currents, etc.

Gurbanly describes the religious situation in the country as calm. SCWRO together with the Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO) carry out educational activities.

The government renders material assistance to representatives of various faiths from the state budget, the president's reserve fund.

In the country mosques, churches, synagogues are being built and restored. The number of mosques has reached 2500, while there were only 17 of them in the Soviet time. Attention is paid to religious education. From this point of view, the Institute of Theology begins to operate.

A fund for propaganda of spiritual values ​​was created.

Is it justified and fair to give an opinion on the registration of Muslim communities by the administration of the Muslims of the Caucasus, which is itself a non-governmental structure? Answering this question, he said that this is natural, since 96% of the country's population is Muslim.

"This structure contacts the Muslim communities most of all, and it carries out personnel assignments in the mosque. The primary registration of communities at mosques is also conducted by the administration of the Muslims of the Caucasus. The SCWRO also issues a certificate reflecting the legal status of the communities on the basis of the CMO submission.

We consider this to be normal, and it will continue from now on," Gurbanli said.

As for the participation of Azerbaijani citizens in conflicts abroad in the composition of religious groups," according to the legislation of Azerbaijan, persons participating in illegal armed groups are punished and brought to trial.

Those who fought in Syria, Iraq and other territories are identified and punished. Preventive measures are carried out. Special services are busy with this and very effective," Gurbanli summed up. -03D06--