BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 23. The religious situation in Azerbaijan is stable, and freedom of religion is ensured at a high level, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Religious Associations (SCRA) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sayavush Heydarov said in an interview with Trend.
- How do you assess the religious situation in Azerbaijan?
- The religious situation in Azerbaijan is steady, however, we must not forget that recently the factor of religion has become sharply politicized in the world, especially in some Muslim countries, going beyond spiritual and moral values, and no one is immune from this process.
Let me remind you that in the early 1990s, during the period after the restoration of Azerbaijan's state independence, external forces, which took advantage of the ideological vacuum and chaos to ensure their geopolitical interests, managed, albeit to a small extent, to introduce alien religious-political and sectarian ideologies into Azerbaijan.
Practice shows that countries that ensure national and religious security are successfully moving forward. Azerbaijan, despite the difficult international situation, and threats existing in the region, various kinds of pressure, and attempts to import alien religious ideologies, has ensured religious security thanks to strong political will, and the fact that this policy continues is extremely important.
At the present time, preventive steps are being taken towards ensuring the religious and ideological security of our country, taking into account real-time conditions for timely prevention of external influences on the religious environment, and ensuring a healthy religious environment.
Together with the relevant state bodies, preventive measures are being taken to prevent religious radicalism and extremism, as well as the causes that give rise to it. Moreover, law enforcement agencies are taking measures to neutralize criminal groups operating under the guise of religion, planning to undermine socio-political stability in the country, and planning sabotage, as well as terrorist acts.
Within the competence of the SCRA, large-scale educational activities are being carried out in this context. These events cover religious communities, schools in remote villages of the country, as well as social networks through videos and films.
For example, last year alone, the SCRA organized more than 920 educational events. It should be also emphasized that religious figures must be at the forefront of the fight against religious radicalism and work for the integrity, solidarity, and enlightenment of the democratic society of which they are citizens.
With the establishment of the Theology Institute of Azerbaijan under the SCRA, in accordance with the decree of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated February 9, 2018, higher religious education in the country has entered a new stage.
In a short time, the Institute has passed a long way in its development and successfully continues its activities for the training of professional personnel in the field of religious activity.
By decree of President Ilham Aliyev in February last year, in order to resolve issues arising from amendments to the law "On Freedom of Religion", the committee developed and approved "Rules for the appointment, certification and dismissal of clerics from their posts in places of worship and sanctuaries of the Islamic religion."
On the basis of this, the SCRA developed a program for conducting interviews and created a certification commission and an interview commission. In order to ensure transparency, conditions are created for the participation of representatives of the press and the public at the exams. Also, according to the rules, it is possible to consider complaints based on the results of exams in an administrative manner.
Moreover, over the past period, the committee has announced three competitions for vacant places in mosques.
Two of them have already been completed, 197 people have successfully passed the exams, and 160 of them have been appointed to various positions in mosques. Some 146 people who made shortcomings in their activities, as well as those who do not have an education in the field of theology, were suspended from work. These new rules can be regarded as a reform in the religious sphere.
- You touched upon the importance of the process of training national personnel. What are the priorities of religious education?
- As I have already said, it is an indisputable fact that in a number of Islamic countries religion has become an instrument of political power. Naturally, this trend has not spared the education sector of these countries. Here we should pay attention to an important point - the attitude and policy of these countries regarding Azerbaijan.
The analysis shows that some people who have received religious education abroad, come back with the harmful ideology of these countries. They are trying to import religious ideology that serves the political interests of these countries into Azerbaijan, becoming propagandists of this religious ideology.
These nuances are constantly the focus of attention of the SCRA. Seminars and training programs are organized for religious figures. Furthermore, individual meetings are also held with them, and their suggestions are listened to.
At the same time, I would like to note that the Fund for Propagation of Spiritual Values operating under the committee provides monthly financial support to religious figures.
The establishment of the Theology Institute plays an important role in the context of these issues. Teaching at the institute is carried out by scientists who strive to teach students not only from the aspect of theology but also from philosophical, historical, and socio-psychological aspects, striving to prepare specialists who are able to convey religion to people in a secular society, as well as committed to our national and spiritual values associated with our national roots.
This educational institution successfully fulfills the tasks of training personnel with deep religious and secular knowledge, and the positive effects of this are already being manifested in society.
Among the graduates of the institute who have achieved significant success over the past period, there are those who successfully passed the exam conducted by the committee in accordance with the "Rules for the appointment, certification and dismissal of clerics in places of worship and sanctuaries of the Islamic religion" and became a cleric.
- You spoke about a number of reforms and measures being taken. Does the committee have enough human resources to implement these processes?
- I would like to note that by mobilizing our entire team to implement the strategic line defined by the head of state in this area, we strive to adequately fulfill the tasks assigned to us.
Employees of the SCRA are civil servants who are hired after passing an exam conducted by the State Examination Center. In addition to theologians, they include specialists in religious and pedagogical education, religious expertise and legal issues.
Here, in particular, it is important to note the youth and the policy of returning to our national and spiritual values, the foundations of which were laid by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. As President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his speech to the people on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the National Leader, attachment to national and spiritual values is at the heart of all our work.
"Today, different trends are observed worldwide, and new values are emerging in different parts of the world. We build our future on a solid national and spiritual foundation by remaining attached to traditional values. This is how the younger generation should be brought up, and this is how we are bringing up the younger generation. The young generation should be attached to national and spiritual values, it should be attached to their literature, music, and art, and we see this. This is how we educate young people," President Ilham Aliyev said.
The committee, within its responsibilities, carries out consistent activities to fulfill these tasks set by the President of Azerbaijan, taking as a priority the preservation of our national and spiritual values, their inculcation to the younger generation.
- The presentation of the "Religion and Global Security" book was recently held. What issues are covered in the book?
- The book examines and comprehends the issues of religious security in national and global contexts in the era of globalization, ways to eliminate threats to global security, the causes of the crisis of spirituality in the world and its consequences, as well as the essence of state policy in Azerbaijan in the field of religious and ideological security.
The model of state-religion relations formed in Azerbaijan on the basis of the existing policy of tolerance, multicultural values and traditions of coexistence is presented as a road map.
I hope that this book will attract the interest of readers with its scientific and political-ideological content, and will become a valuable resource, especially for specialists studying issues of global security and religion in the relationship.
In addition, I would like to note that, taking into account the international significance, the book has been translated into Russian and English and will be published in the coming days.