Hajj with all its charms

In mid-May, the first charter flights carrying Azerbaijani pilgrims began departing from Baku airport for Saudi Arabia. As in previous years, the national Hajj quota was fully filled — around 1,500 people travelled to Mecca despite the cost of the pilgrimage reaching $6,100 per person.

Every March, as bonfires flicker in the courtyards of Azerbaijani homes and trays of sweets are laid out, a quiet contradiction emerges. A predominantly Muslim society celebrates a holiday that predates Islam by more than a millennium—and does so without perceiving any contradiction at all.

The USA put Azerbaijan on a special list of countries that commit severe violations of religious freedom.

The United States recently included Azerbaijan in its annual so-called Special Watch List (SWL), which includes countries with serious violations of religious freedom. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken retained all 12 countries compared to the previous year and added Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, and Vietnam to the list.