GONE WITH IGNORANCE

Recently, there have been frequent deaths of Azerbaijanis involved in the war in Syria on the side of the radical opposition. The Azerbaijani public perceives reports of the involvement of our citizens in a foreign war with alarm, especially as most of the notorious volunteers are fighting under the banner of extremism that hides behind religious slogans and poses a real threat to the security and development of the Azerbaijani state.

According to various sources, about a hundred natives of Azerbaijan have been killed in the fighting in Syria.

Baku strongly condemns the militant activity of homegrown radical Islamists. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference with the visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans in Baku: "We do not want citizens of Azerbaijan to participate and die in hostilities wherever they are, including in Syria."

Serious concern about the involvement of our citizens in the Syrian war has been expressed by the Milli Maclis of Azerbaijan. Parliament Speaker Oqtay Asadov directly called them "mercenaries". "Therefore, those who are fighting in Syria because of money cannot be considered martyrs," he said.

The Milli Maclis suggested initiating criminal proceedings against citizens of the country who are fighting in Syria. In addition, the MPs noted the need to strengthen educational work aimed at preventing the recent trend towards the involvement of our citizens in the activities of various extremist sects.

It is symbolic that the first plenary meeting of the spring session of the Parliament of Azerbaijan ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism. The document envisages, in particular, a fight against terrorist training, criminal liability and other measures against legal persons involved in terrorism.

A thorough evaluation of the frequent deaths of Azerbaijanis in Syria was given by the chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, Elsad Isgandarov. According to him, the involvement of Azerbaijani citizens in the fighting in Syrian territory has two aspects: "First of all, it is connected directly with the participation of Azerbaijani citizens in hostilities, which take place abroad under religious slogans and under the influence of propaganda... On the other hand, this question is connected with the provision of our national security. And finally, this is a very serious problem in terms of harm to the patriotic consciousness of people, especially the youth. Azerbaijan has such a strategic national goal as the liberation of the Armenian-occupied territories. This should be the goal of life for all our citizens, especially young people..."

The strong condemnation by the state and public of Azerbaijan of the unauthorized participation of our citizens in the Syrian war, as well as in fighting on the territory of any other state, is quite understandable. It is associated not only with the understanding that Azerbaijani militants fighting in Syria might create a serious threat to stability and security in Azerbaijan after their return home.

The danger of religious extremism comes mainly from organizations acting under the banner of Wahhabism, which calls adherents of other religions and even other branches of Islam "infidels".

It is noteworthy that provocations and threats from Wahhabis have increased in Azerbaijan. On various Internet websites, they express open threats against the Azerbaijani authorities. For example, two Islamist organizations - "Mesa Qardaslari" ("Forest Brothers") and "Jeyshullah" ("Army of God") have posted a statement on social networks about the beginning of hostilities in Azerbaijan.

Therefore, the Azerbaijani state and all our society are faced with the need to strengthen the fight against religious extremism. And this fight will undoubtedly be conducted along with the application of criminal and administrative penalties and expansion of propaganda and educational work to expose the ideology of radical teachings, which have nothing to do with Islam, and to preach ideals of peace, love, kindness and universal accord.

The task of foiling external support for religious extremism - ideological, political and financial - is of the greatest importance here. It is no secret that Wahhabism is sponsored mainly by certain influential forces in the Arab world. With their efforts, this radical movement has spread, particularly, in the North Caucasus, which leads to closer cooperation between the law enforcement forces of Azerbaijan and Russia in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

Meanwhile, we should also take into account that Wahhabis are traditionally used by powerful global forces that seek to establish a global neo-liberal order and condone coloured "revolutions" in different countries and regions. It is obvious that the Wahhabis tactically suit the West during their large-scale geopolitical operations (as it was, say, in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation or during the current "Arab revolutions" in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and, of course, in Syria). This is not surprising because in the 18th-19th centuries, the intelligence agencies and governments of Western countries, especially of the UK, directly participated in the transformation of Wahhabism into a formidable force that undermines the Islamic community from inside. And in the 20th century, the rise of Wahhabism occurred with US support in the "Cold War" with the Soviet Union as the Arab monarchies of the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain - countries where Wahhabism has been proclaimed the state religion) turned into Washington's closest strategic allies in the Muslim East.

However, no matter how strong foreign support is, in Azerbaijan there are no internal factors of support for radical Islamists. For the extremist threat is categorically unacceptable to the traditional way of life in Azerbaijan - a country considered one of the recognized centres of intercultural and interreligious dialogue in the modern world. The rich cultural heritage of Azerbaijan and traditions of peaceful and amicable coexistence between representatives of different nationalities and faiths have glorified the phenomenon of Azerbaijani tolerance all over the world.