Religion as a tool of US political game against Azerbaijan Foreign pundits on Caliber.Az

The US State Department’s recent decision to include Azerbaijan in the watchlist of countries that commit serious violations of religious freedom is yet another ridiculous attack against Baku, with which Washington is persistently trying to break a new bottom in relations with our country. The heads and representatives of all religious communities in Azerbaijan have already expressed their disagreement with this Armenian-tinged move by the United States.

In turn, Israeli political scientist and journalist Roman Gurevich told Caliber.Az that Azerbaijan can be rightfully called the centre of multiculturalism and a model of tolerance in the post-Soviet space, a model to which the whole modern world should aspire. He recalled that Baku was considered a city with a unique international atmosphere back in the Soviet times.

I remember bringing a delegation of guests from Europe to Baku. It was Christmas Eve, and on the streets of Baku they saw a large number of Christmas trees, Christmas souvenirs and toys, attributes of the holiday close to Europeans. I noticed their surprise and confusion, so I asked them what was wrong. "Azerbaijan is a Muslim country, and people celebrate Christmas and New Year in the streets?" my European guests asked. I explained that Azerbaijan respects the culture and traditions of all ethnic and religious groups, and Christian and other holidays have taken root as native ones. 

I was born and grew up in Baku, and I remember well how we used to celebrate together, congratulating each other on various celebrations - Jewish, Muslim and Christian. For example, on Novruz Bayram, plates with sweets and the traditional "Samani" (wheatgrass) were distributed to flats, on Easter eggs were dyed and distributed, and on Hanukkah everything was decorated with candles. Azerbaijan is that rare place where people respect both their own religion and the religions of other nations. For example, in the centre of Baku there is still an Armenian church intact. There are Catholic and Orthodox churches in Baku, representatives of dozens of nationalities, for example, a very large Russian community, a large Jewish community, and the Armenian community of Azerbaijan, by the way, has more than 30,000 people.

So, the accusations of religious intolerance, which are made against Azerbaijan, do not fit in the head, it is another lie and vile slander.

By the way, this list of countries from the US State Department includes Azerbaijan, while for some reason Washington "forgot" about Armenia. Let me remind you once again that several tens of thousands of Armenians live in Azerbaijan, while there is not a single Azerbaijani in Armenia. In the same Armenia the only synagogue in the country was set on fire three times, and on January 1 this year a neo-Nazi parade was held in Yerevan. But for some reason, Armenia did not fall under the suspicion of the US. So, I believe that the compilation of such a list was highly unprofessional, dictated by lobbyists of someone's narrow interests, and it can't be called anything but a gross distortion of the truth and obvious facts," Gurevich stressed.

In turn, Alexander Osovtsev, former member of the State Duma of the first convocation of the Russian Federation, professor of philosophy, analyst of the World Zionist Organisation, noted that any statements made by the State Department on the issue of religious freedoms in Azerbaijan cause him sincere bewilderment.

"The US is an ally of Israel, but I am surprised by the American statements about Azerbaijan. No one has ever had a problem with religion in Azerbaijan. If this is a fabricated populist approach to attract votes of the Armenian Diaspora in the upcoming elections, then this political technique is theoretically possible, but it does not take into account the realities - Azerbaijan has never had any problems with religious freedom. Therefore, I am completely bewildered by this list", Osovtsev emphasised.

Avraham Shmulevich, an expert on the Caucasus, the Islamic world and the Middle East, Chairman of the Eastern Partnership Institute (Jerusalem), noted that the issue of religious freedom and human rights is often used as an element of political games. Moreover, even in the most developed countries. And this point should always be taken into account.

"As for the situation in Azerbaijan directly, I, as a rabbi and a person who spends a lot of time maintaining contacts with Jewish diasporas around the world, can confidently say that in Azerbaijan, the local Jewish community has no problems, they enjoy full religious freedom in this country. And this is a well-known fact. The Orthodox community, Catholic Christian community and other religious confessions exist perfectly in Azerbaijan, the Armenian Church exists here, and the Armenians who have remained in the territory of Azerbaijan have no problems at all in matters related to religious freedom. I have many acquaintances from other religious confessions or movements in Azerbaijan, for example, I know many Muslims or Russians who have adopted Judaism, but I have never heard any complaints from them about any harassment," Shmulevich said.