Azerbaijanis clash with police in Ganja

Tensions between believers and authorities keep growing since the call to prayer (the so-called azan) was banned in central mosques in Azerbaijan’s capital city and its other regions.

Despite the ban, believers in Ganja’s Shah Abbas Mosque tried to voice azan and called to prayer. Police prevent these attempts, moreover, it arrested people who had come to the noon prayer and then picked up and carried away all microphones and loudspeaker used for azan-calling.

Correspondent of Azerbaijani Radio Liberty reported that indignant believers protesting against ban on use of azan tried to close the adjoining street and were met with police. Head of City Police Department of Ganja Rasim Musaev met with protesters and said that police was acting on instructions from Azerbaijan’s authorities. All the attempts to voice azan would be prevented, he said never even mentioning who had given such command.

Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, head of the Center for protection of religious faiths and freedom of conscience, has strongly condemned these measures against believers and qualified them as a gross violation of human rights. He blamed Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations for letting religious things slide. Ilgar Ibrahimoglu urged believers to continue the struggle for rights through using civilized ways of striving.