"Relations Between Baku and Tehran Breaking Down. Azerbaijan Accusing Pro-Iranian Religious Organizations of Attempted Coup"
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
May 4, 2001

It seems that relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, which were already pretty difficult, have become more aggravated lately. It all began when several people attempte April 24 to cross the Azerbaijani border from the Iranian side in Jalilabad District. But the intruders were spotted by border guards. As a result of the exchange of fire, an Azerbaijani serviceman, Ramil Lyalyayev, died. The intruders escaped into Iranian territory.

Baku sent the Iranian side an official protest in connection with the incident, but there has been no response. In the opinion of local observers, an attempt by certain forces in Iran to destabilize the situation in Azerbaijan lies behind this flagrant violation of border procedures. An unexpected statement was made by Tofik Babayev, Deputy Minister of National Security of Azerbaijan. Speaking at a seminar on religious problems in Baku's city hall, he said that the aim of certain religious organizations controlled by the security services of Iran and a number of Arab countries is to seize power in Azerbaijan. According to Babayev, these forces are endeavoring to turn Azerbaijan into a "testing ground of political conflicts." "The activity in the country of Wahhabi and other radical religious sects has reached an alarming level," he said, noting that the aim of these forces is to accomplish in the country a "coup on religious grounds." Extremists are attempting to create in the authorities a feeling of uncertainty, simultaneously forming their own social base and preparing their people to seize power, Babayev said.

It should be noted that a representative of official Baku has for the first time acknowledged that several years ago pro-Iran forces in the shape of the Islamic Party had prepared an Islamic revolution in Azerbaijan. But these attempts were foiled. Now, though, Iran is attempting to strengthen its positions in Azerbaijan through the creation of "illegal" religious schools and mosques, recruiting and ferrying young people to Iran with a view to inculcating anti-Azerbaijani sentiments in them. Concerning another threat (Wahhabism), Tofik Babayev observed that the numbers of followers of this trend in Azerbaijan have reached 7,000. The Abubakr Mosque in Baku is the stronghold of the Wahhabis in the country. They also gather at the Gey and Shahidlar mosques.

The deputy minister said also that the supporters of Wahhabism are trying to find followers among the ethnic minorities and mixed families. Approximately 300 of the country's citizens have undergone training at Wahhabi centers in Dagestan in recent years. The process of expansion of the social base of Wahhabism and the formation of regular supporters of this teaching must be toughly suppressed, Babayev declared.

Concerning the activity of Christian missionaries in the country, the deputy minister accused them of fostering in soldiers of the national army a "defeatist spirit." At the conclusion of his speech Tofik Babayev emphasized that it is essential to seek the unconditional subordination of all mosques to the Religious Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus and to write into the criminal code an article on liability for religious extremism. In the opinion of local analysts, religious extremism is the most dangerous form of extremism, which sooner or later results in conflicts and creates the conditions for a destabilization of the situation. This is why there is a need to control religious organizations that are operating in Azerbaijan. It should be noted that a law on freedom of religion is in force in Azerbaijan at this time, and there is not as of today a mechanism regulating the activity of these organizations.

As far as the accusations against Iran are concerned, it would seem that there are serious reasons for this. In accordance with Tehran's policy, the Shi'ite population of Azerbaijan is to support the all-Iranian national idea, according to which Iran is the spokesman for the interests of the entire Islamic world. In addition, Iranian clerics have never made any secret of their unhappiness with Baku's determination to remain a secular state. The authorities of Iran have granted asylum to Heydar Aliyev's sworn enemy--Mahir Javadov, a former commander of the Special Police Detachment, who has formed in Tehran the Taraggi (Progress) party and has threatened to cross Azerbaijan's border with weapon in hand. On top of all this the Iranian authorities are stating publicly that they consider Armenia their strategic partner in the Caucasus. If it is considered that Armenian forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijani territory, the value of Islamic solidarity with the Tehran regime is clear.

It would appear that Baku has no intention of closing its eyes to all this. Heydar Aliev, leader of Azerbaijan, has on various pretexts been putting off his official visit to Iran for more than a year now.

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