Azerbaijan to shut down Turkish-funded mosque, facing more closures

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan to shut down Turkish-funded mosque, facing more closures. Azerbaijan is continuing to shut down mosques in a practice Muslims had suffered in Soviet era. Muslims in Baku will gather to perform Friday prayer at the mosque that is to be closed. After the closure of Sehitlik and Diyanet Mosques, now Baku State University Divinity School Mosque will be closed. Azeris fear other 27 mosques that have survived during the Soviet period will face the same end.



Hidayet Orucov, who is responsible for Religious Institutions in Azerbaijan, claimed 27 mosques out of 32 are "illegal" in Old Baku, and implied these mosques were going to be closed.



Faculty and Mosque began their activities in 1992. Both faculty and the mosque's costs are covered by the Turkish Religious Foundation.



Azerbaijan had destroyed a mosque that named after Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) as well as another one in Petrol island, and shut down Sehitlik Mosque, which was built by Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs.



A mosque was built on 28 June, 1995 beside the Martyrdom cemetery erected in Baku in honour of 1130 Turkish soldiers died fighting withing "Caucasian Islam Army" against Armenian and Russian soldiers that occupied Azerbaijan in 1918, World Bulletin reported.