Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAKU1831
2006-12-18 07:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baku
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON THE CHAIRMAN OF

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KISL IR AJ 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHKB #1831/01 3520740
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 180740Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1998
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE PRIORITY
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 0006
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 001831 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KISL IR AJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON THE CHAIRMAN OF
THE AZERBAIJANI STATE RELIGIOUS COMMITTEE

REF: BAKU 1132

Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 001831

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KISL IR AJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON THE CHAIRMAN OF
THE AZERBAIJANI STATE RELIGIOUS COMMITTEE

REF: BAKU 1132

Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse for reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary: In a November 7 introductory meeting, the
Chairman of the State Committee on Work with Religious
Associations (SCWRA) Hidayet Orujov told the Ambassador that
the GOAJ was committed both to ensuring religious freedom and
to preserving Azerbaijan's history of interfaith harmony.
Orujov said that Azerbaijan did not receive enough
international attention given its unique role as a secular,
tolerant, Muslim country. He added that radical Muslim
groups, deriving their origins from abroad, posed a threat
over the longer term to Azerbaijan's secularism but that
society would not allow extremism to take hold. He also said
that his predecessor, Rafiq Aliyev, had failed to promote
Azerbaijan's success in this field which, he believed,
explained USG concerns in the 2006 IRF. Orujov added that
under his leadership the SCWRA would reach out to the
international community and stressed that he did not believe
the SCWRA's role was to interfere in matters of individual
faith. The Ambassador underscored that the USG strong
supported religious freedom as a human right and urged Orujov
to distinguish between legitimate expressions of religiosity
and any radicalized groups which might constitute a security
threat. The Ambassador also urged Orujov to advance the
dialogue between the West and Muslim world through
Azerbaijan's role as the current OIC ministerial chairman.
End Summary.

ORUJOV: WE MUST PROVIDE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, BUT PRESERVE
TOLERANCE, SECULARISM
-------------- --


2. (C) In a November 7 introductory meeting the Chairman of
the State Committee on Work with Religious Associations
(SCWRA),Hidayet Orujov, told the Ambassador that he viewed
the SCWRA's role as allowing people to exercise their lawful
right to worship freely. Orujov said that Azerbaijan had a
unique and positive historical experience to draw on which
encouraged tolerance and provided for interfaith harmony.

Orujov commented that in his view Azerbaijan's unique history
of religious tolerance did not receive adequate international
attention and that he hoped to change this during his tenure
as chairman. (President Aliyev appointed Orujov, a former
counselor at the Apparat, to the SCWRA chairmanship in July
2006 following the dismissal of Orujov's outspoken
predecessor, Rafiq Aliyev.)


3. (C) Orujov warned the Ambassador that the Committee viewed
some nontraditional faiths as radical and dangerous to
Azerbaijan's secularism and interfaith tolerance. He singled
out Wahabbist Muslims, (the Turkish-origin) Nurcular movement
and conservative Shiite groups, telling the Ambassador these
groups are often financed from aboard by those seeking to
export radical Islamic "tendencies" to Azerbaijan. The
groups' ultimate goal, he argued, is to undermine
Azerbaijan's secularism and its long tradition of interfaith
harmony. He added that while he did not believe that there
was a foundation for radicalized Islam to take hold in
Azerbaijan, the State Committee's responsibility was to do
its best to preserve society's tradition of secularism and
tolerance.


4. (C) Orujov further commented that, if left unchecked,
these radical "tendencies" would pose a danger to Azerbaijani
society over the next 10 to 20 years but he hastened to add
that the GOAJ will "never allow this to happen." Orujov
opined that he did not believe the SCWRA role was to
interfere in matters of faith but extremism in any society
was a disease and that even in a secular society like
Azerbaijan "there are limits to society's tolerance." Orujov
urged the Ambassador to work with the State Committee to
redouble its efforts to educate young people on the role of
faith and religion in the secular context.


5. (C) Turning to other non-traditional denominations, Orujov
said that public interest in non-traditional Christian faiths
was also increasing but that the GOAJ did not interfere in
their affairs because people have a right to worship as they
choose. He noted, for example, that the Roman Catholic Church
was building a new facility in Baku. However, he said that
some of the non-traditional Christian religions, without
identifying which, were illegally paying people to encourage
their participation in the church. Orujov added that some of
these newer religious groups are also less tolerant of
interfaith harmony. He raised the concern that this might
contribute to clashes among Azerbaijan's various religious
communities. Orujov stressed that Azerbaijan's history
interfaith tolerance was superior to any other country in the

BAKU 00001831 002 OF 002


region, telling the Ambassador that while the Turkish
Government seeks to control all aspects of religious life in
Turkey, the GOAJ State Committee leaves matters of faith,
such as the selection of imams, to the Caucasus Muslim Board
and its leader Sheikh Pashazade.


6. (C) The Ambassador told Orujov that the USG appreciated
Azerbaijan's potential as a moderating force in the Islamic
world and agreed that Azerbaijan has not received the
international attention it deserved as a model of religious
tolerance. However, the Ambassador said that to realize its
potential, the GOAJ must actively protect the right of the
public to worship freely and draw a clear distinction between
the natural rise in public interest in religion - a
consequence of Azerbaijan's post-Soviet independence - and
the threat posed by terrorists who act under the false
pretense of religiosity.


7. (C) The Ambassador affirmed that the U.S was strongly
committed to religious freedom as a human right integral to
democracy and commented that the United States respected
Islam and all religious faiths. The Ambassador noted that the
U.S. Constitution forbids legislation on religion and that
there was no U.S. government agency tasked with oversight of
religious matters in the US. Orujov replied that he hoped
that Azerbaijan would eventually reach the American level of
domestic development that will enable the SCWRA to close.

FORMER SCWRA CHAIRMAN TO BLAME FOR CRITICISM
--------------


8. (C) Orujov told the Ambassador that he read the Azerbaijan
section of the 2006 International Religious Freedom Report
closely shortly after its release. He said he believed, in
most respects, that the report accurately reflected
Azerbaijan's record of tolerance but that some sections of
the report inadequately reflected the work of the SCWRA. He
opined that our criticism of GOAJ restrictions on the
import/export of religious literature for example, reflected
the failure of Orujov's predecessor, Rafiq Aliyev, to explain
the Azerbaijani position to Embassy officials. Orujov said
that, a decade earlier when he was state counselor, he knew
former U.S. Ambassador Richard Miles well which enabled
fruitful cooperation between the Embassy and the GOAJ.
However, Orujov said that for the past several years he had
not been involved in religious affairs while Rafiq Aliyev
"temporarily" held the SCWRA chairmanship. (Note: Rafiq
Aliyev was the GOAJ equivalent of a 'recess appointment'
having never received his formal commission from the
President.)


9. (C) Orujov said that, under his leadership, the State
Committee will reach out to the international community and
the Embassy, in particular, to establish renewed cooperation
and information sharing. Orujov then invited the Ambassador
to deliver remarks at a GOAJ organized interfaith conference
on November 16. (Comment: The Ambassador participated in the
conference, delivering remarks on religious freedom and
interfaith tolerance that were well-received by conference
participants and by the media. End Comment.) Orujov also said
that in his first four months in office, he has already
reached out to the NGO community and to religious groups,
noting that a week prior he had invited the leading NGOs to
meet with him to discuss the state of religious freedom in
Azerbaijan.

AZERBAIJAN WITHIN THE OIC
--------------


10. (C) The Ambassador told Orujov that the GOAJ, in its
capacity as the current ministerial chair of the Organization
of the Islamic Conference (OIC),was in a unique position to
advance the dialogue between the West and the Muslim world.
The Ambassador urged Orujov to work closely with the Foreign
Ministry to follow up on Under Secretary Burns' October 2006
initiative aimed at engaging the OIC. Orujov indicated that
he would follow-up with the MFA and agreed that the OIC
chairmanship was an excellent vehicle for advancing
Azerbaijan's role as a model in the Muslim world. The
Ambassador affirmed USG support for the GOAJ's planned
international interfaith tolerance conference scheduled to
take place in April 2007.
DERSE