MP: "Iran is politicizing this"

This year, the calendar of the month of Ramadan (Hijra) of the Caucasus Muslim Administration covers the period from March 23 to April 21. Many people in Azerbaijan have been fasting this month.

In previous years, the Ramadan calendar in Azerbaijan basically coincided with the calendar of the same name in Iran. It was somewhat different from the calendar of countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, where Muslims dominate in numbers. This has also caused criticism from some circles in society.

This year in Azerbaijan, the Fasting calendar was different from the Iranian one. But, as can be seen from social media, some people were still fasting for an extra day, and they celebrated the holiday on the same day as people in Iran. They also justified it by saying that the moon was not full.

It was not possible to get an attitude to this issue from the Office of Muslims of the Caucasus. But Sabir Rustamkhanli, a member of the Milli Majlis Committee on International Relations and Inter-Parliamentary Relations, told Turan that in fact there is no such thing as an "Iranian calendar" and a "Turkish calendar": "That is, the month of Ramadan begins and ends in a month. The main condition here is the appearance of the Moon. Previously, the crowd was waiting for it on the horizon, but now there are astronomical opportunities in the world. They can determine with great accuracy when the month of Ramadan begins and ends, as for example in Turkey."

According to the MP, therefore, it is natural for Azerbaijan to mark the beginning and end of Ramadan simultaneously with Turkey: "But, unfortunately, Iran politicizes this. Iran, as a rule, is cut off from the Islamic world and wants to position itself as a separate power."

According to Rustamkhanli, Iran goes beyond the general laws of Islam and highlights Shiism: "Shiism is also one of the main sects of Islam, and the calendar is the same for everyone. They can start and finish on the same day as everyone else. But they make one   day difference. It seems to me that they are doing this intentionally."

Political commentator Arastun Orujlu told Radio “Azadlig” that this issue is an integral part of Azerbaijan's recent policy of distancing itself from Iran: "But the fact is that our political strategy is never planned and methodical in nature. Now there is a threat of Iranian intervention, there is a threat of Iran, so the authorities are trying to force Iran to leave in every sense."

The expert believes that by these steps they alienate the Shiite believers in Azerbaijan from the influence of the Iranian ayatollahs. "Let's say the celebration of Ramadan did not happen on the same day as Iran. What does it change? On what day was Ramadan celebrated only by Iran in Azerbaijan? Iran has conducted a very large-scale work in Azerbaijan. Therefore, propaganda with such trifles is extremely ineffective. Effective propaganda is based on serious foundations, has strategic goals, and is methodical."

According to the political scientist, if relations with Iran move to a somewhat healthier plane, this issue will be forgotten.

The attempts to get an answer from the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan to the opinions expressed in the article were futile.