Secularism in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is a secular state by law.{{cite web|quote=The constitution characterizes Azerbaijan as a secular state and stipulates a separation between the state and religion.|title=AZERBAIJAN USCIRF–RECOMMENDED FOR COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN (CPC)|publisher=US Department of State |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/Azerbaijan.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiSufjvp8yGAxW-cmwGHaPCAGoQFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3w0U5FwbevkmRA20ZcVgZY}} The Constitution states, "religious associations shall be separate from the state and shall not interfere in state affairs."
Background
Azerbaijan has an estimated population of approximately 10.4 million.
Nearly 96 percent of the population is Muslim, out of which 65% is Shia and 35% is Sunni. The remaining four percent of the population consists of atheists, Armenian Apostolics, Baha’is, Catholics, Georgian Orthodox, members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, Molokans, Protestants, and Russian Orthodox.
Regulations on Muslims
According to the 2024 report from the US Department of State, the government of Azerbaijan routinely harassed, fined, surveilled, detained, arrested, and imprisoned Shia Muslims related to their religious activities and religious activism. On December 29, 2023, the
State Department placed Azerbaijan on its Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom. The government uses mosque closures to repress independent Muslim groups that act independently of the state.{{Cite book |last=Sarkissian |first=Ani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LKObBQAAQBAJ |title=The Varieties of Religious Repression: Why Governments Restrict Religion |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-934808-4 |pages=18, 51–53, 79–87 |language=en}} Clerics that act in ways objectionable to the state face dismissal and arrest. The government does not restrict religious conversion, but it does forbid proselytizing. Azerbaijan is often considered the most secularized Muslim-majority nation.{{cite web |url=http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/Silkroadpapers/0610Azer.pdf |title=Svante E. Cornell. The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan. |access-date=2009-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418104957/http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/Silkroadpapers/0610Azer.pdf |archive-date=2013-04-18 |url-status=dead }}
Persecution of Armenian Christians
The recent invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023 lead to a large scale exodus of Armenian Christians to Armenia. Over 100 churches were reportedly destroyed.{{cite news|title=Christians caught in decades-long conflict in Azerbaijan|url=https://www.romereports.com/en/2024/02/10/christians-caught-in-decades-long-conflict-in-azerbaijan/|agency=Rome Reports|date=10 February 2024}} The Armenian government accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing.{{cite web|title=Ethnic Cleansing Is Happening in Nagorno-Karabakh. How Can the World Respond?|website=Council on Foreign Relations|date=October 2023|author=David J. Scheffer|url=https://www.cfr.org/article/ethnic-cleansing-happening-nagorno-karabakh-how-can-world-respond}} In 2024, the US government added Azerbaijan to a watchlist of religious freedom following the Azerbaijani invasion of Armenian enclave.{{cite news|title=US puts Azerbaijan on religious freedom watchlist|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240104-us-puts-azerbaijan-on-religious-freedom-watchlist|agency=France 24|date=4 January 2024}}
See also
References
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