|
Azerbaijan's Religion Committee Denies Threat To Religious Freedoms
BAKU, Jan.
11 (News Agencies) - The head of Azerbaijan's State Religion Committee Thursday rejected concerns that the government's compulsory registration of religious groups was designed to clamp down on minority faiths.
"We have no such intention," committee head, Rafiq Aliyev told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an interview in the Azeri capital, Baku. "The state is not against religion, it is the guarantor of religious freedoms."
Minority faiths in this mainly Muslim former Soviet republic have expressed concern that the registration procedure might be a pretext for closing down groups the authorities did not like, AFP reported.
Aliyev insisted the registration process -- the third since Azerbaijan became independent in 1991, was intended only to bring order to a chaotic situation where many religious groups operate outside the law.
Of the estimated 406 religious organizations currently operating in Azerbaijan, only 122 had been officially licensed under the previous registration scheme, he added.
Many faiths were evading taxes and illegally taking money into and out of the country. The deadline for religious groups to submit applications for registration had been extended by one month to February 1 to give them more time to put together the necessary documentation, Aliyev told AFP.
But Aliyev said he agreed with Azeri intelligence officials that some religious organizations were being used by foreign countries as a cover for espionage operations against Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan reportedly has a chequered record on religious freedoms.
There is no objection to western faiths operating in Azerbaijan and even converting Muslims, as long as children were not being converted. "If a person is an adult, then that is his right," Aliyev said to AFP.
However, he said he supported claims made last year by National Security Minister, Namiq Abbassov, that some religious groups were being used to spy on Azerbaijan.
He would not name the countries or groups under suspicion, but said his committee often shared information with the security ministry about religious organizations thought to pose a threat, AFP reported.
He said there were 22 religious schools in Azerbaijan, funded mainly by Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The schools have been closed down pending registration.
|
