alliance of civilisations – Frontline Club

From Baku to Strasbourg: 40,000-euro-worth idiosyncrasies

Ali Novruzov — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:52:55 +0000

According to Azeri Press Agency, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, named after a former KGB strongman and communist party chief turned president, and which operates in and from the Republic of Azerbaijan, a secular Shia state, has donated €40,000 to Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg. The foundation is headed by the First Lady of Azerbaijan who is also a Goodwill Ambassador of both UNESCO and ISESCO – Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. So many idiosyncrasies, you think?

This could be a very perfect news piece otherwise – embroiled in infamous clashes of civilizations and suffering from religious and cultural intolerance, the world could be relieved by this generous act, as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg was relieved from ongoing global economic crisis maybe. However, back at home, things are not so comforting.

Since the start of 2009, the secular Shia state of Azerbaijan has demolished three mosques (all Shiite ones), while closed Baku’s main Sunni mosque. Another Sunni mosque remains closed since the summer of last year, when a grenade exploded inside killing two worshippers and wounding the imam.

Now, people in the streets ask a legitimate question – what is the logic behind the closure and demolition of mosques at home and a lavish donation to a church abroad?

Ironically, Baku is declared the Capital of Islamic Culture of 2009 by the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

To read more about closed and demolished Baku mosques visit these:

How many idiosyncrasies?

Ali Novruzov — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:01:00 +0000

Not long ago, in 1920, Mammed Amin Rasul-zadeh wrote that Azerbaijan was born from a Turkic father and Iranian mother. I would like to add that Azerbaijan had Russian stepparents.

Once I wrote to a person in the other side of the Atlantic and not mentioned my country, for I thought that why an ordinary American was obliged to know anything about Azerbaijan? I just wrote that "I am a student of IR in a tiny country near to Middle East and I was seeking… […]". And surprise! Look what response I have received:

I’m guessing from your last name– Islamic, with Russian ending to Surname– and the "turk" in your email address, that you are Azeri.

And now, here is what UAE’s The National writes:

Where the tectonic plates of the old Russian, Persian and Ottoman empires collided, there was bound to be some residual volatility. That restlessness is seen throughout the Caucasus, but perhaps nowhere better than in modern-day Azerbaijan.

Last week in the Azeri capital, Baku, those cultures were standing in sharp contrast. The city has been designated the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2009, and ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conferences gathered in one of the bigger hotels to discuss OIC matters.

An Emirati delegation were being briefed on Azeri affairs by their hosts, who explained, in English, that the country had a booming oil industry, that it was almost bilingual in Russian and the Turkic native language, and that it was a rare Shia Muslim state, but secular on the Turkish model. The men in dishdashas nodded at the information, but seemed puzzled – how many such idiosyncrasies could one country, population 9 million, combine?