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Islam Online
Oct 9 2011
Head of Islamic Party of Azerbaijan jailed for 12 years
Islamonline.net_ News Agencies
Baku's Court for Serious Crimes handed heavy jail sentences to the
Head of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (AIP) Movsum Samadov and six
other members of the organization on Friday 07 Oct after charging them
with subversion, IRIB reported.
Samadov was sentenced to 12 years in jail while Ruhullah Akhundzada,
the head of the party's branch in Astara, south Azerbaijan, received a
prison sentence of 11 years and six months. Similarly, Deputy Chairman
of the AIP Vaqif Abdullayev and party member Seyyed Feramarz Abbasov
have been condemned to 11 years in jail. Firdovsi Mammadrizayev and
Dayanat Samadov, less senior party members, were given 10-year prison
terms, while Hojjatoleslam Zulfiqar Mikailzada, a religious activist
received a five-year sentence.
The Azeri party members were detained in January after protesting
against the government-imposed ban on Hijab in the country's secondary
and high schools.
Many civil society activists have slammed the Azeri government for
bringing trumped-up charges against AIP members such as trying to
organize terrorist acts, possessing illegal weapons, and attempting to
subvert the state and seize power unlawfully. "All charges against
members of our party have no grounds. We appeal to the government to
stop ordered repressions," the party said in a statement.
As the verdicts were announced, police forces moved to scatter dozens
of AIP supporters and the relatives of the defendants who had convened
outside the court, wounding some and detaining at least 15 others.
In January, Baku attempted to undermine the pro-hijab movement in the
former Soviet republic by incarcerating Muslim activists. Hundreds of
people have joined protests against the state-sponsored prohibition of
wearing Islamic headscarves in schools since the Azeri Education
Minister Misir Mardanov announced the controversial ban in December
2010.
Around 98 percent of Azerbaijan's nearly 9 million population is
Muslim. The government under President Ilham Aliyev is strictly
secular and has close relations with the West. A ban on Islamic dress
code is not included in Azerbaijan's constitution.
Islamic Party of Azerbaijan
The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan was founded in 1991 in the town of
Nardaran, which lies northeast of the capital Baku on the Absheron
Peninsula, and is a lone stronghold of conservative Shi'a Islam in
staunchly secular and religiously progressive Azerbaijan, and was
officially registered in 1992. Its registration, however, was
cancelled in 1995, and has not been revoked since.
It advocated stronger ties with Iran and even proclaiming the state of
Azerbaijan into an Islamic Republic as it rejected the ideas of
pan-Turkism, regarding them as dangerous and utopian. Nevertheless it
was also an Azerbaijani nationalist party and was known for its fiery
nationalist and anti-Armenian rhetoric and frequently advocated a
military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which is currently
under Armenian occupation. It was fiercly opposed and advocated a ban
of proselytism and Christian missionary activities. The party was also
anti-USA, anti-Zionist and anti-EU and supported Hezbollah and its
leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In January 6, 2011 the leader of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA)
Mohsun Samedov made an inflammatory speech at the meeting of the
Assembly of the IPA, attacking the Azerbaijani government.
IPA strongly opposes the ban on hijab in schools and called it a blow
to the morality of the Azerbaijani people. This is the message in a
speech by the leader of the Islamic Party, Mohsun Samedov, given at a
party meeting, which has been posted on YouTube. Click here for video
in Azeri
Samedov rejected the assertion that rallies in support of the hijab
were organized by the foreign forces. He further criticized the
policies of the authorities, which have led to the emigration of up to
4 million people. "Injustice and bribery have reached such a scale
that that even funds allocated for dredging the Kura river were
embezzled and the homes of thousands of people were flooded. At that
very time there was a festival of flowers, organized in Baku, which
cost millions,' said Samedov.
Over the past 5 to 7 years, experts have repeatedly pointed out that
corruption and unjust distribution of the country's income from oil
and suppression of democratic freedoms will inevitably lead to the
spread of religious sentiment and strengthen the position of radical
Islam
Islamists' Strength in Azerbaijan
Devout Muslims have become increasingly assertive in Azerbaijan over
the past year, as protests about an informal ban on hijabs in schools
attest. But this growing assertiveness does not mean that Islamists
are coalescing into an influential political force in Baku.
A couple of powerful factors are working against Islamists in
Azerbaijan. For one, secular traditions are firmly entrenched. Perhaps
more importantly, Islamists in Azerbaijan are deeply divided.
At present, three major Islamist groups can be observed: politically
active Shi'as, who are inspired by the example of the Islamic Republic
of Iran; Saudi-inspired Salafis, essentially modern-day Islamic
puritans; and Turkish missionary groups, most notably the Fethullah
Gülen movement.
Azerbaijan is a nation where 65 percent of the population adheres to
the Shi'a branch of Islam. Even so, a majority of the Azerbaijani
population views politically active Shi'as with suspicion due to their
close association with Iran. The overtly pro-Iranian Islamic Party of
Azerbaijan operates on the margins of the country's political
spectrum, and public indifference to the arrest of its leader, Movsum
Samedov, testified to the party's negligible public appeal.
http://www.islamonline.net/cs/ContentServer?packedargs=locale%3Den&c=IOLArticle_ C&childpagename=IslamOnline%2FIslamOnlineLayout&p= News&pagename=IslamOnlineWrapper&cid=1278409089570
Oct 9 2011
Head of Islamic Party of Azerbaijan jailed for 12 years
Islamonline.net_ News Agencies
Baku's Court for Serious Crimes handed heavy jail sentences to the
Head of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (AIP) Movsum Samadov and six
other members of the organization on Friday 07 Oct after charging them
with subversion, IRIB reported.
Samadov was sentenced to 12 years in jail while Ruhullah Akhundzada,
the head of the party's branch in Astara, south Azerbaijan, received a
prison sentence of 11 years and six months. Similarly, Deputy Chairman
of the AIP Vaqif Abdullayev and party member Seyyed Feramarz Abbasov
have been condemned to 11 years in jail. Firdovsi Mammadrizayev and
Dayanat Samadov, less senior party members, were given 10-year prison
terms, while Hojjatoleslam Zulfiqar Mikailzada, a religious activist
received a five-year sentence.
The Azeri party members were detained in January after protesting
against the government-imposed ban on Hijab in the country's secondary
and high schools.
Many civil society activists have slammed the Azeri government for
bringing trumped-up charges against AIP members such as trying to
organize terrorist acts, possessing illegal weapons, and attempting to
subvert the state and seize power unlawfully. "All charges against
members of our party have no grounds. We appeal to the government to
stop ordered repressions," the party said in a statement.
As the verdicts were announced, police forces moved to scatter dozens
of AIP supporters and the relatives of the defendants who had convened
outside the court, wounding some and detaining at least 15 others.
In January, Baku attempted to undermine the pro-hijab movement in the
former Soviet republic by incarcerating Muslim activists. Hundreds of
people have joined protests against the state-sponsored prohibition of
wearing Islamic headscarves in schools since the Azeri Education
Minister Misir Mardanov announced the controversial ban in December
2010.
Around 98 percent of Azerbaijan's nearly 9 million population is
Muslim. The government under President Ilham Aliyev is strictly
secular and has close relations with the West. A ban on Islamic dress
code is not included in Azerbaijan's constitution.
Islamic Party of Azerbaijan
The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan was founded in 1991 in the town of
Nardaran, which lies northeast of the capital Baku on the Absheron
Peninsula, and is a lone stronghold of conservative Shi'a Islam in
staunchly secular and religiously progressive Azerbaijan, and was
officially registered in 1992. Its registration, however, was
cancelled in 1995, and has not been revoked since.
It advocated stronger ties with Iran and even proclaiming the state of
Azerbaijan into an Islamic Republic as it rejected the ideas of
pan-Turkism, regarding them as dangerous and utopian. Nevertheless it
was also an Azerbaijani nationalist party and was known for its fiery
nationalist and anti-Armenian rhetoric and frequently advocated a
military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which is currently
under Armenian occupation. It was fiercly opposed and advocated a ban
of proselytism and Christian missionary activities. The party was also
anti-USA, anti-Zionist and anti-EU and supported Hezbollah and its
leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In January 6, 2011 the leader of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA)
Mohsun Samedov made an inflammatory speech at the meeting of the
Assembly of the IPA, attacking the Azerbaijani government.
IPA strongly opposes the ban on hijab in schools and called it a blow
to the morality of the Azerbaijani people. This is the message in a
speech by the leader of the Islamic Party, Mohsun Samedov, given at a
party meeting, which has been posted on YouTube. Click here for video
in Azeri
Samedov rejected the assertion that rallies in support of the hijab
were organized by the foreign forces. He further criticized the
policies of the authorities, which have led to the emigration of up to
4 million people. "Injustice and bribery have reached such a scale
that that even funds allocated for dredging the Kura river were
embezzled and the homes of thousands of people were flooded. At that
very time there was a festival of flowers, organized in Baku, which
cost millions,' said Samedov.
Over the past 5 to 7 years, experts have repeatedly pointed out that
corruption and unjust distribution of the country's income from oil
and suppression of democratic freedoms will inevitably lead to the
spread of religious sentiment and strengthen the position of radical
Islam
Islamists' Strength in Azerbaijan
Devout Muslims have become increasingly assertive in Azerbaijan over
the past year, as protests about an informal ban on hijabs in schools
attest. But this growing assertiveness does not mean that Islamists
are coalescing into an influential political force in Baku.
A couple of powerful factors are working against Islamists in
Azerbaijan. For one, secular traditions are firmly entrenched. Perhaps
more importantly, Islamists in Azerbaijan are deeply divided.
At present, three major Islamist groups can be observed: politically
active Shi'as, who are inspired by the example of the Islamic Republic
of Iran; Saudi-inspired Salafis, essentially modern-day Islamic
puritans; and Turkish missionary groups, most notably the Fethullah
Gülen movement.
Azerbaijan is a nation where 65 percent of the population adheres to
the Shi'a branch of Islam. Even so, a majority of the Azerbaijani
population views politically active Shi'as with suspicion due to their
close association with Iran. The overtly pro-Iranian Islamic Party of
Azerbaijan operates on the margins of the country's political
spectrum, and public indifference to the arrest of its leader, Movsum
Samedov, testified to the party's negligible public appeal.
http://www.islamonline.net/cs/ContentServer?packedargs=locale%3Den&c=IOLArticle_ C&childpagename=IslamOnline%2FIslamOnlineLayout&p= News&pagename=IslamOnlineWrapper&cid=1278409089570