Recently the Islamic fundamentalists have become appreciably much more active in Azerbaijan. As the local secret services claim, the influential forces from beyond the bounds of the republic support them. According to the Ministry of National Security (MNB) the radical Islamic movement's goal is to destabilize the situation before the upcoming November parliamentary elections.
Representatives of the MNB assert, that to achieve these goals the adherents of Islamic fundamentalism operate in two directions. First, they actively strive to enter penetration the Azeri political structures. The second - they try to destabilize the situation in the republic with diversions and acts of terrorism.
The bombing, which never happened
In the spring of this year security forces of the republic liquidated the terrorist group headed by Afghani national Nurseem Abd Ar-Rahman. Among his subordinates were citizens of Britain (Ali Fadhil al-Idrisi), Jordan (Hammad Sadiga) and Russia (Said-Husain Takaev, Alihan Balaev and Suleiman Isaev). According to the MNB's data, from the end of 2004 they were engaged in preparation of series of acts of terrorism in Azerbaijan. Ali Fadhil al-Idrisi was responsible for the technical side of the "operation", for he had previous experience in sabotage. The components for producing the explosives he received from his associates in Britain and Germany. Strangely enough, authorities do not name the "customer", who ordered these acts of terrorism and the organization to which Abd Ar-Rahman's group belonged.
During searches explosives, weapons, 80 thousand dollars, an audiocassette with calls to Jihad, and also passports of citizens of Iran, Tunis, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, France and Russia were found out at his and his colleagues' places.
This is not the first case when Baku accuses supporters of Islamic fundamentalism of attempts to destabilize the situation in the republic. In 2003 local special services have arrested seven members of the "Hizb ut-Tahrir" organization, suspected in terrorist activity, and also several parishioners of a mosque in the city of Gandzh that cooperated with them.
War against the mosques
The mosques were announced by authorities to be the centers of propagation of ideas of Islamic fundamentalism. For several years the security services paid special attention to the Abu-Bakr mosque in Baku. It was closed after the detention of about 30 parishioners of a mosque accused in connection with the Chechen mojahedin by the security forces. In June, 2004, authorities decided on closing another mosque - at the old part of the Azerbaijan capital – Icheri Sheher. The Imam of the mosque Ilgar Ibragimogly was condemned to five years of imprisonment.
Despite of repressive actions of the authorities, the popularity of ideas of Islamic fundamentalism, as in Shia, so in Sunni versions is growing steadily in the republic. The religious literature is actively distributed, due to foreign sponsors new mosques and madrasah are opening. Though Azerbaijan is traditionally considered to be a secular state, there are more than 1500 mosques opened in the country.
Baku blames Riyadh and Tehran
The representatives of the security services explain the Islamic Renaissance in the country by the activity of Shia and Sunni preachers, which came to the republic from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt. They achieve the greatest success in the poorest areas of Azerbaijan, especially - in the refugee camps, where dwell those who fled the areas of the Azeri-Armenian conflict. Islamic emissaries from abroad pay a special attention to working with the youth. Many young Azerbaijanians, having no prospect to receive higher education and to find work on the native land, are being sent for to study in religious centers in the countries of the Middle East and Southern Asia. Several years later they come back to the republic already being the convinced supporters of Islamic fundamentalism.
According to the MNB representatives, religious emissaries from the Arab countries operate in republic more successfully, than their "colleagues" - preachers from Iran.
In this connection the supporters of a Wahhabism - conservative stream of the Sunni Islam (based on Hanbali mazhab), and the state ideology of Saudi Arabia, are really standing out. The number of the supporters of this stream in Azerbaijan grows steadily, and already exceeds 15 thousand. According to the local political scientist Rafael Gasanov, "the wahhabi have turned into a force, capable to affect for the political life of the country". The success of the wahhabi ideology in the republic, is a part of the global process of spreading of this doctrine on Caucasus. Most of its supporters are concentrated in North Caucasian areas of Russia, in particular in Daghestan adjoining to northern areas of Azerbaijan.
As to the Shia organizations, underground groupings "Jeishullah" and "Hezbollah" operate in Azerbaijan. Authorities repeatedly accused supporters of the latter in connections with the Iranian special services. Representatives of the MNB assert, that Tehran uses " Hezbollah" against rival to them political figures of Azerbaijan and activists of the Azeri separatist movement of Iran, which fled to Baku. The well-known Azerbaijan academician - orientalist Zija Bunjatov became one of the victims of " Hezbollah", the official sources claim.
Anyway, the Islamic fundamentalism is gradually becoming an integral part of the political life of Azerbaijan. This circumstance can be used before the elections for destabilization of the situation in the republic. And not only the activists of the Islamic movements may become the initiators of it, but also the confidants of president Aliev.
Interior situation in Azerbaijan:
Azerbaijan: on the Way to the Civil War (06.07.05)
Azeri opponents: "Aliev's regime has come to an end" (25.06.05)
Immunity From the "Velvet Revolutions" (06.06.05)
Monthly Review of Azerbaijani Politics (May 2005)
Azerbaijan – Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic radicals planned terrorist attacks in Baku (16.07.05)
United Arab Emirates financing the Islamic underground in Azerbaijan (29.05.05)
Capturing of terrorist group in Azerbaijan (29.04.05)
Wahabite organizations in Azerbaijan are uniting to take part in the elections (28.04.05)
Azerbaijan – Iran
Relations Between Iran and Azerbaijan - The full coverage
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