WHO IS WHO?

The ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf - the hijab - by schoolgirls in Azerbaijani schools was perhaps the most clamorous event in the social and political life of the country in early 2011. This sparked heated debates in the country's mass media and among the general public.

The very fact that people voiced their civic position on this issue is of course good. Especially as, after analysing the content of the Azerbaijani media in the recent period, one gets the impression that there is no more serious problem in the country than selecting performers for the Eurovision song contest.

Let us remind our readers that the heated debate on the hijab issue started after a statement by Education Minister Misir Mardanov.  In reply to a journalist's question, he condemned the practice of wearing this type of headwear by underage girls in secondary schools, in which a standard school uniform was introduced recently.  As the saying goes, the law is harsh, but it is the law - and there is quite a clear logic to it. On the one hand, Azerbaijan is a secular state in which, with all due respect to religious canons, state laws still have priority. Clause 4 of Article 3 of the Law on Education (On the main principles of state policy in the field of education) indicates as one of its principles that of secularism (safeguarding national and universal values and their dialectical unity on the basis of a secular system of education and development).

On the other hand, there is no guarantee that the girls wear the headscarf through their own choice, rather than because their family tells them so. And the protest rally organized in front of the Education Ministry building on 10 December 2010, in which up to 1,000 people took part according to some reports, was indirect proof of this. The protesters were not girls in headscarves, but their quite aggressively inclined fathers, brothers and other male 'sympathizers'. The education minister, in commenting, accused external forces of staging the protest action. His accusations were probably not without basis. Azerbaijan's 'classical opposition' has not been able to stage even a small organized rally with a decent number of participants for a few years now but, in this event, it took literally one day to prepare an unsanctioned and quite lengthy protest action. It is hard to believe that all the protesters met one another at teacher-parent meetings. What is more likely here is the organized activity of religious cells with close contacts abroad. Accusing representatives of any particular country of organizing the protest actions is undesirable, but it has to be said that very harsh statements made in the Iranian Parliament are not conducive at all to constructive dialogue on this issue.

So, the situation that has evolved has clearly demonstrated who is who. It has become extremely clear who is interested in resolving pressing problems in a calm environment and who is trying to reap political dividends by fair means or foul. The Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, whose registration was cancelled as long ago as the early 1990s, decided to get involved and 'catch the wave'.  However, it overdid it with open calls for a coup and attracted the attention of the law enforcement authorities who have already made appropriate statements about inquiries into the operations of party functionaries and its 'chairman' - who turned out to have a large cache of weapons and ammunition.

The opposition press slammed the government for the 'religious policy' it pursues. The government, for its part, is against excessive politicization of this issue, because this is not a matter of religion, but of mandatory school uniforms. An online opinion poll was conducted by the Turan news agency - whose readership certainly cannot be accused of sympathizing with government. The opinion poll produced quite an interesting picture:  60% of 200 respondents were for the ban on wearing hijab at schools.  This confirms that, regardless of political views and affiliations, secular values are top priority for most. 

A dignified and civilized approach to the problem was demonstrated by a group of Azerbaijani theologians who, despite their critical attitude on this issue, displayed civil responsibility and made an attempt to defuse the tensions in society by urging believers to refrain from protest actions on the Ashura day of mourning. The same group of theologians cancelled a 'rally in support of the hijab' at the Taza Pir mosque, which was scheduled for 12 January. The statement read that, because a satisfactory resolution of the hijab problem was in sight, the need for protest had been obviated.

For our part, we can only hope that the situation concerning hijabs at schools will be clarified and that a compromise can be found with those believers who feel that their interests have been encroached upon.  The most important thing is to prevent those forces with malevolent attitudes towards Azerbaijan from manipulating the religious sentiments of the country's citizens.