Azerbaijan, Baku, July 31 / Trend, E.Tariverdiyeva /
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the U.S. Department of State published International Religious Freedom Report for 2011.
"In March leaders of Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, and Orthodox communities shared examples of religious tolerance and interfaith cooperation in society and government with the U.S. government's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism and the special representative to Muslim communities,' the report, published on the U.S. State Department's website, says.
The report also cites examples of improvement of religious environment in Azerbaijan - opening of new synagogues, mosques, as well as registration of the new Roman Catholic Church. In addition, the government also signed an agreement with the Vatican on the legal status of the Catholic Church in the country, the report says.
According to the report, in 2011 there were no reports of arrests of individuals who observed the Islamic holiday of Ashura through self-flagellation. The Caucasus Muslim Board publicly recommended blood donations instead of self-flagellation, the report says.