Azerbaijan's National NGO Forum calls on society not to give in to provocations by external forces
Azerbaijan's National NGO Forum has issued a statement regarding clothing requirements in schools, calling on society not to give in to provocations by external forces.
As the National NGO Forum told 1news.az, in recent days information attacks have been observed on internet resources in Iran and other foreign countries, directed against Azerbaijan's secular model of state governance, promoting a state system based on the principles of Sharia, as well as misleading the public and artificially creating confrontation in society.
"We strongly condemn the deliberate politicization of discussions about clothing requirements for students and teachers in schools, as well as attempts to shift this issue into the realm of religious confrontation. As an organization uniting hundreds of NGOs, we call on Azerbaijani society to show vigilance with regard to information provocations directed against our national interests, constitutional values, and public solidarity.
Secularism is a historical achievement of Azerbaijan, a state tradition, and a national asset. Azerbaijan entered history as the first country of the Muslim East and the Turkic world to establish a tradition of secular statehood. Our people have always treated their religious and spiritual values with great respect, and Islam has become an important part of their historical and cultural heritage. The green color on the State Flag also symbolizes our people's historical and cultural connection with Islamic civilization. At the same time, the strength of Azerbaijani statehood is also manifested in the fact that representatives of various religions live as one family, in peace and mutual respect.
In our country, mosques, churches, and synagogues operate side by side. The state's care for the preservation of places of worship, the restoration of historical monuments, and the construction of new places of worship is a vivid example of the traditions of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Azerbaijan. The fact that restoration and construction work in the territories liberated from occupation began precisely with a mosque — the Aghdam Juma Mosque — and that at the moment of Shusha's liberation the azan was heard to the sound of gunfire, has remained in memory as a symbol of our people's commitment to Islam and respect for religious values," the statement says.
The document emphasizes that the use of religious values for political purposes and turning religious beliefs into an instrument of public confrontation contradict both the spiritual essence of Islam and the centuries-old traditions of peaceful coexistence of the Azerbaijani people.
"Today, compliance with uniform rules in educational institutions is a requirement of current legislation. The application of these rules is not directed against religious values and does not pursue the goal of regulating citizens' private lives outside of school.
The school uniform requirements established by the relevant decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan state that the use of clothing elements that violate the uniform standard of school attire and do not correspond to the principle of the secular nature of general education is not permitted. At the same time, the clothing requirements for teaching staff provide for maintaining the professional appearance of teachers and the secular nature of the educational environment.
Azerbaijan's National NGO Forum supports the consistent, transparent, and equal application for all of clothing requirements in educational institutions in accordance with the law. After all, schools must be a place for the development of science, education, national and spiritual values, and free thinking, not of religious propaganda and ideological influence," the statement notes.
The organization emphasized that the secular character of the state is a conscious choice of the Azerbaijani people and that any encroachment on this value will bring no results.
"Religious prejudices and superstitions are relics of the past. The Azerbaijani enlightenment movement resolutely fought against these phenomena and laid the foundations of civilized statehood. Those who seek to return Azerbaijan to the dark times of ignorance, to impose the rule of mullahs on it, to turn the country into something resembling Iran and a state governed on the basis of religious dogmas, will not achieve their goals.
Azerbaijani society, while maintaining its commitment to its religious values, is at the same time firmly determined to defend the principle of secular statehood. We believe that the main criterion in this matter must not be emotions, provocative appeals, and propaganda directed from outside, but the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the legislation, and national interests.
National solidarity and public stability are the responsibility of each of us. Azerbaijan's National NGO Forum calls on representatives of civil society, the intelligentsia, teachers, parents, the mass media, and the entire public to take a principled position regarding information campaigns that exploit religious feelings for their own purposes and are aimed at splitting society.
We call on citizens not to give in to provocations and to approach such issues from the standpoint of the law and national and public interests. The rule of law, national solidarity, and secularism are inalienable foundations of our state and society. Protecting these values is the civic duty of each of us," the statement says.
