Foreign countries have built 92 mosques in Azerbaijan

Foreign countries have built 92 mosques in Azerbaijan since the independence, Chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Associations Hidayat Orujov said during the discussions of amendments to the law on freedom of religious faith at the joint meeting of the parliament’s committees for human rights and legal policy and state-building, APA reports.

Orujov said 63 mosques were built by Kuwait, 24- by Turkey, one – by Qatar, one – by the Islamic Republic of Iran, three – by Saudi Arabia. Only Turkey sent six imams as its representatives to these mosques and other countries have no representatives here. “Totally there are 1750 mosques in Azerbaijan and 150 of them are temporary and 800 – permanent”.

The committee chairman said there were some secret religious inclinations in Azerbaijan. “There are some little groups trying to spread radical traditions, but they have no influence. There is a struggle against them. Azerbaijani society keeps from the prejudice. The religious situation in Azerbaijan is quite stable. All over the world note that. The rights of all confessions in the country are protected and there is a tolerance in the country. The new mosques are built in Azerbaijan and old ones are reconstructed”.

Orujov said there were some concerned issues. Some communities sponsored from abroad are not interested to be registered. “If they are registered they have to work according to the regulations. They are not interested in it. Unfortunately they call themselves as a community, but they are groups. There are both Islamic and non-Islamic groups. They aim to damage religious stability in the country. Their activity sometimes breaks their families. There are such facts. For example if the head of the family is a Jehovah’s witness, he forces other members of the family to accept his faith. There are some Islamic communities among them as well”.

/APA/