Mubariz Gurbanli: No rituals, religious ceremonies allowed under picture of political leader or flag of another country

Mubariz Gurbanli: No rituals, religious ceremonies allowed under picture of political leader or flag of another country
# 05 November 2014 14:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Mubariz Aslanov – APA. Chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations Mubariz Gurbanli has commented on the holding of some religious ceremonies under the flag of Iran or the portraits of this country’s political leaders in villages of Baku as well as in Nardaran on the Day of Ashura.

Such cases are strictly condemned, M. Gurbanli said in an exclusive interview to APA.

He added that Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran are quite normal.

“The persons depicted in those portraits are known as Iran’s supreme state officials, and displaying their pictures is not part of any rituals. Therefore, this case is strictly condemned by our side,” he stated.

The committee chairman also noted if some people are trying to express themselves with such actions, they’re mistaken.

“First of all, they must know their actions match with neither Imam Hussain (peace be upon Him) and others nor the sanctuaries in the places where they perform rituals. The residents too should know that they’re a nation rather than Ummah, and they must demonstrate loyalty to Azerbaijan’s people, state, and flag. It’s inadmissible to perform rituals and hold religious ceremonies under the flag or the portraits of political leaders of another country”

M. Gurbanli added that the state committee’s representatives investigated the matter immediately: “Those religious communities in that area were seriously and told not to allow any such cases in future”.

The committee chairman stressed that there are high level conditions in Azerbaijan to perform rituals of any religion and the state never forbids it: “Ashura rituals were also celebrated very well yesterday. Very few undesired cases were seen compared to previous years, or almost no such cases occurred at all”.

Note that, in connection with the arrival of the month of Muharram and the Day of Ashura, many villages of Baku, especially Nardaran, performed rituals under the portraits of state officials and the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The video footages were posted on the Internet.

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