Bahá'í Faith in Azerbaijan
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Azerbaijan crosses a complex history of regional changes. Through that series of changes the thread of the Bahá'í Faith
traces its history in the region from the earliest moments of the Bábism
religion, accepted by Bahá'ís as a predecessor religion, in that one of its most prominent figures, Tahirih
, was an Azerbaijani. Followers of the religion formed communities in Nakhichevan
before 1850. By the early 1900s the community, now centered in Baku
, numbered perhaps 2000 individuals and several Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies and had facilitated the favorable attention of local and regional, and international leaders of thought as well as long-standing leading figures in the religion. However under Soviet rule the Bahá'í community was almost ended though it was quickly reactivated as more than 30 years later when perestroyka loosened controls on religions. The community quickly rallied and re-elected its own National Spiritual Assembly in 1992. The modern Bahá'í population of Azerbaijan, centered in Baku, may have regained its peak from the oppression of the Soviet period of about 2000 people, today with more than 80% converts although the community in Nakhichevan, where it all began, is still seriously harassed and oppressed.
The history of the religion in Azerbaijan covers a time of power struggles between Russian (through Empire
, Soviet
and finally Russian Federation periods) and Iranian (from its Qajar dynasty
, Pahlavi dynasty
, and The Islamic Republic), and regional independence movement both early Pro-independence movements in Russian Civil War, continuing Prometheism
efforts and more recently since the Dissolution of the USSR. The region of Azerbaijan remains divided between an independent state including the semi-autonomous state of Nakhchivan, and of northern-western provinces
of Iran.
though her story would be in the context of Iran. She was among the Letters of the Living
of the Báb
. A group of members of the Bábí religion formed in Nakhichevan and spread before 1850 largely of Persian expatriates who were fleeing persecution in Persia. The Russian army, under the command of General Vasili Bebutov
, attacked the new community which formed so quickly and is thought to have included more than ten thousand people.
, Baku
, Balakhani, Ganja
, Barda
, Goychay
, Salyan
, Khilli (present Neftchala
), Shaki, Shamakhy. Soon the community of Baku counted the largest number of believers in the region and in 1860 obtained official recognition from the authorities. The community recognized the newly announced position of Bahá'u'lláh
. Soon there was more public awareness and some favor from leaders of the broader community and at the same time the Bahá'í community of Baku broadened its communication with other Bahá'í communities in Russia
, Turkey
and Ashkhabad
and did much work printing materials in Turkish
. The most publicly recognized member of the community approaching 1900 was Musa Nagiyev
, one of Azerbaijan's richest citizens of the times though there were many public figures before and after who seem to have admired the religion or even been members of it.
. The Nakhjavani family played many and major roles in the Bahá'í Faith before and in the coming decades. The father of the family, Mirza `Ali-Akbar Nakhjavani, translated communications to and from Leo Tolstoy
circa 1890's and assisted`Abdu'l-Bahá
in his travels to the United States in 1911-12. The children of Ali-Akbar included Jalal, born in 1917, and Ali
in 1919. After his death circa 1920-1, the family was invited to take up residence in Haifa and Ali-Akbar's wife and sister worked as attendants in the house of `Abdu'l-Bahá after his death assisting the many pilgrims who came there. Both children grew up eventually attending Beirut University
and moved to a variety of places to help spread the religion. Both initially moved back to Iran and then Africa. Jalal went to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
and then years later in Hamburg
West Germany
and helping to found the assembly of Neumuenster and then finally in Selkirk
Canada
where he soon died though he traveled and spoke to groups until his last days. Ali helped spread of the religion across from Uganda
through central Africa to Cameroon
and in 1963 would be elected to the Universal House of Justice
and was re-elected and served 40 years before retiring.
(Soviet secret police) and the policy of religious oppression the Soviets began a sweep against the Bahá'ís on October 13 and in a few days all the members of the spiritual assembly of Baku and dozens of others were arrested. The chairman was executed. It wasn't until 1956 when the Spiritual Assembly of Baku started to function again after a fashion but by the end of 1963 was ranked as only a community, not an assembly. The regional National Assembly of the Caucasus and Turkistan was disbanded.
including of S.D. Asadova, I.F. Gasimov, and I.G. Ayyubov who were interrogated for 7 hours continuously and had to write 10-page explanations. They were prohibited from telling anybody about their arrest and meetings of the community were ended.
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. However in the Soviet Block Bahá'ís had almost disappeared. As Perestroyka approached, the Bahá'ís began to organize and get in contact with each other. From 1988 the Bahá'ís in Moscow
and Ashqabad and then in Baku became active (see also Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine
.) With more than 20 Bahá'ís in Baku at that time only three went to the State Department of Religion of Azerbaijan, for fear of arrests, in order to announce their intention to re-establish the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Baku. By the end of 1990, after 50 almost years, the election for the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Baku was held followed by Gandja and Barda. In 1991 the Spiritual Assemblies were re-elected in Salyan and Balakhani. In 1992 the Parliament of Azerbaijan adopted the law of religious liberty and Bahá'ís gained an opportunity to officially register communities and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Azerbaijan was elected, effectively disbanded since 1938. In 1993 the Governing Board of the Ministry of Justice of the Azerbaijan Republic gave official permission for the functioning of the Bahá'í Community of Baku.
The Bahá'ís of Baku are seeking the return of property confiscated during the Soviet era—especially a house that served as the Bahá'í Center. The Bahá'í population of Azerbaijan, centered in Baku, may have regained its peak from the oppression of the Soviet period of about 2000 people, with more than 80% converts. In 2005 the Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying in part on the World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated somewhat fewer Bahá'ís at about 1500. Influence from Turk, rather than Russian or Iranian, Bahá'ís seems to be playing a leading role among conversions of Azerbaijans, especially the Lezgins
. However, the small Bahá'í Nakhichevan community is harassed by the authorities and they lack freedom of association and where a leading Bahá'í was arrested in 2004. Officials claimed he was not imprisoned for his religious beliefs though officials extracted a verbal promise from him not to speak further of his religion to anyone.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
traces its history in the region from the earliest moments of the Bábism
Bábism
The Babi Faith is a religious movement that flourished in Persia from 1844 to 1852, then lingered on in exile in the Ottoman Empire as well as underground. Its founder was Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shirazi, who took the title Báb—meaning "Gate"—from a Shi'a theological term...
religion, accepted by Bahá'ís as a predecessor religion, in that one of its most prominent figures, Tahirih
Táhirih
Táhirih or Qurratu'l-`Ayn are both titles of Fátimih Baraghání , an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith in Iran. Her life, influence and execution made her a key figure of the religion...
, was an Azerbaijani. Followers of the religion formed communities in Nakhichevan
Nakhichevan
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,363 km² and borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest...
before 1850. By the early 1900s the community, now centered in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, numbered perhaps 2000 individuals and several Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies and had facilitated the favorable attention of local and regional, and international leaders of thought as well as long-standing leading figures in the religion. However under Soviet rule the Bahá'í community was almost ended though it was quickly reactivated as more than 30 years later when perestroyka loosened controls on religions. The community quickly rallied and re-elected its own National Spiritual Assembly in 1992. The modern Bahá'í population of Azerbaijan, centered in Baku, may have regained its peak from the oppression of the Soviet period of about 2000 people, today with more than 80% converts although the community in Nakhichevan, where it all began, is still seriously harassed and oppressed.
Beginnings
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and finally Russian Federation periods) and Iranian (from its Qajar dynasty
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
, Pahlavi dynasty
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
, and The Islamic Republic), and regional independence movement both early Pro-independence movements in Russian Civil War, continuing Prometheism
Prometheism
Prometheism or Prometheanism was a political project initiated by Poland's Józef Piłsudski. Its aim was to weaken the Russian Empire and its successor states, including the Soviet Union, by supporting nationalist independence movements among the major non-Russian peoples that lived within the...
efforts and more recently since the Dissolution of the USSR. The region of Azerbaijan remains divided between an independent state including the semi-autonomous state of Nakhchivan, and of northern-western provinces
Azerbaijan (Iran)
Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan , also Iranian Azerbaijan, Persian Azarbaijan is a region in northwestern Iran. It is also historically known as Atropatene and Aturpatakan....
of Iran.
Earliest phase
In the beginning of the earliest phase, among the most notable fact is a woman of Azerbaijani background would play a central role in this history of Babism - she would be later named TahirihTáhirih
Táhirih or Qurratu'l-`Ayn are both titles of Fátimih Baraghání , an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith in Iran. Her life, influence and execution made her a key figure of the religion...
though her story would be in the context of Iran. She was among the Letters of the Living
Letters of the Living
The Letters of the Living was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list...
of the Báb
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
. A group of members of the Bábí religion formed in Nakhichevan and spread before 1850 largely of Persian expatriates who were fleeing persecution in Persia. The Russian army, under the command of General Vasili Bebutov
Vasili Bebutov
Vasiliy Osipovich Bebutov was a Russian-Armenian general. A descendant of a Georgian-Armenian noble house of Bebutashvili/Bebutov, he was in the military since 1809. Served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812 and the Patriotic War of 1812. Since 1816 he was Adjutant General of the H. I. M....
, attacked the new community which formed so quickly and is thought to have included more than ten thousand people.
Growth during the Bábí period
From 1850 on small communities established themselves in OrdubadOrdubad
Ordubad is the second largest town and a municipality of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. It is the capital of the Ordubad rayon. It has a population of 10,372....
, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Balakhani, Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
, Barda
Barda
Barda may refer to:*Barda Rayon, a district in Azerbaijan*Barda, Azerbaijan, a town in Azerbaijan* Bârda, a village in Malovăţ Commune, Mehedinţi County, Romania*Barda, Russia, a rural locality in Perm Krai, Russia*Jean-Pierre Barda*Olaf Barda...
, Goychay
Goychay
Goychay is a rayon of Azerbaijan located in the central part of the county. The region is famous for its pomegranate growing industry.-Geography:...
, Salyan
Salyan
Salyan is a raion of Azerbaijan. Its capital is Salyan. It lays adjacent to the Kura River. To the north are several productive oilfields operated by the Salyan Oil company. It also comprises most of the Shirvan National Park....
, Khilli (present Neftchala
Neftchala
Neftchala is a rayon on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Its name is Persian نفت چاله Naft-Chala and means oil trench.-History:The Neftchala region was formed as district in the composition of Azerbaijan Republic on February 11, 1940...
), Shaki, Shamakhy. Soon the community of Baku counted the largest number of believers in the region and in 1860 obtained official recognition from the authorities. The community recognized the newly announced position of Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
. Soon there was more public awareness and some favor from leaders of the broader community and at the same time the Bahá'í community of Baku broadened its communication with other Bahá'í communities in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Turkey
Bahá'í Faith in Turkey
The Bahá'í faith bears a strong bond to the nation of Turkey as Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, was exiled to Constantinople, current-day Istanbul, by the Ottoman authorities during the formative days of the religion...
and Ashkhabad
Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan
The Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan begins before Russian advances into the region when the area was under the influence of Persia. By 1887 a community of Bahá'í refugees from religious violence in Persia had made a religious center in Ashgabat. Shortly afterwards — by 1894 — Russia made...
and did much work printing materials in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. The most publicly recognized member of the community approaching 1900 was Musa Nagiyev
Musa Nagiyev
Musa Naghiyev was an Azerbaijani industrial oil magnate in late 19th - early 20th century.He was born into a very poor family near Baku and started working as a cargo carrier , but thanks to his natural wit and business abilities, he progressed to accumulate a vast amount of wealth...
, one of Azerbaijan's richest citizens of the times though there were many public figures before and after who seem to have admired the religion or even been members of it.
Maximum extent of the early community
Circa 1902 relations with the government were good but with the general population "…we have no satisfactory tranquility on account of the people." and the Baku assembly was now also in contact with Bahá'í communities in the United States. Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies were elected in Balakhani, Baku, Ganja, Barda, and Salyan. The community may have peaked at about 2000 people, second only to that of Ashqabad - see Bahá'í Faith in TurkmenistanBahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan
The Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan begins before Russian advances into the region when the area was under the influence of Persia. By 1887 a community of Bahá'í refugees from religious violence in Persia had made a religious center in Ashgabat. Shortly afterwards — by 1894 — Russia made...
. The Nakhjavani family played many and major roles in the Bahá'í Faith before and in the coming decades. The father of the family, Mirza `Ali-Akbar Nakhjavani, translated communications to and from Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
circa 1890's and assisted`Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
in his travels to the United States in 1911-12. The children of Ali-Akbar included Jalal, born in 1917, and Ali
Ali Nakhjavani
Alí-Yulláh Nakhjavání served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, between 1963 and 2003....
in 1919. After his death circa 1920-1, the family was invited to take up residence in Haifa and Ali-Akbar's wife and sister worked as attendants in the house of `Abdu'l-Bahá after his death assisting the many pilgrims who came there. Both children grew up eventually attending Beirut University
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
and moved to a variety of places to help spread the religion. Both initially moved back to Iran and then Africa. Jalal went to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and then years later in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and helping to found the assembly of Neumuenster and then finally in Selkirk
Selkirk, Manitoba
Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where he soon died though he traveled and spoke to groups until his last days. Ali helped spread of the religion across from Uganda
Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations...
through central Africa to Cameroon
Bahá'í Faith in Cameroon
The Bahá'í Faith in Cameroon was established when the country was separated into two colonies - British and French Cameroon. The first Bahá'í in Cameroon was Enoch Olinga, who had left his homeland of Uganda to bring the religion to British Cameroon in 1953...
and in 1963 would be elected to the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
and was re-elected and served 40 years before retiring.
First oppression
From 1922 Soviet officials launched their initial campaigns against the Bahá'ís including deportation of Bahá'í Iranian citizens to Iran and the exile of others to Siberia, publications and schools were banned, as well as collective meetings. Regardless, a new wave of national organization was achieved with the election of the regional National Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the Caucasus and Turkistan in 1925. However in 1928 orders were dispered among the Bahá'í communities suspending all meetings, and suppressing all local and national administration. Prohibitions were placed on the raising of funds, and Bahá'í youth and children's clubs were ordered closed. By about 1937 only the assembly of Baku and Ashgabat were still functioning though the membership of the Baku assembly had be elected three times in two years because the first two set of members were arrested en masse and exiled to Siberia. The third set was mostly women. In 1937, with the NKVDNKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
(Soviet secret police) and the policy of religious oppression the Soviets began a sweep against the Bahá'ís on October 13 and in a few days all the members of the spiritual assembly of Baku and dozens of others were arrested. The chairman was executed. It wasn't until 1956 when the Spiritual Assembly of Baku started to function again after a fashion but by the end of 1963 was ranked as only a community, not an assembly. The regional National Assembly of the Caucasus and Turkistan was disbanded.
Second oppression
In November 1982 there were systematic sweeping arrests by the KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
including of S.D. Asadova, I.F. Gasimov, and I.G. Ayyubov who were interrogated for 7 hours continuously and had to write 10-page explanations. They were prohibited from telling anybody about their arrest and meetings of the community were ended.
From Perestroyka
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity around the world when a message of the Universal House of JusticeUniversal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. However in the Soviet Block Bahá'ís had almost disappeared. As Perestroyka approached, the Bahá'ís began to organize and get in contact with each other. From 1988 the Bahá'ís in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Ashqabad and then in Baku became active (see also Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine
Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine
The Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Ukraine, as part of the Russian Empire, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith as far back as 1847...
.) With more than 20 Bahá'ís in Baku at that time only three went to the State Department of Religion of Azerbaijan, for fear of arrests, in order to announce their intention to re-establish the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Baku. By the end of 1990, after 50 almost years, the election for the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Baku was held followed by Gandja and Barda. In 1991 the Spiritual Assemblies were re-elected in Salyan and Balakhani. In 1992 the Parliament of Azerbaijan adopted the law of religious liberty and Bahá'ís gained an opportunity to officially register communities and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Azerbaijan was elected, effectively disbanded since 1938. In 1993 the Governing Board of the Ministry of Justice of the Azerbaijan Republic gave official permission for the functioning of the Bahá'í Community of Baku.
The Bahá'ís of Baku are seeking the return of property confiscated during the Soviet era—especially a house that served as the Bahá'í Center. The Bahá'í population of Azerbaijan, centered in Baku, may have regained its peak from the oppression of the Soviet period of about 2000 people, with more than 80% converts. In 2005 the Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying in part on the World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated somewhat fewer Bahá'ís at about 1500. Influence from Turk, rather than Russian or Iranian, Bahá'ís seems to be playing a leading role among conversions of Azerbaijans, especially the Lezgins
Lezgins
The Lezgians are an ethnic group living predominantly in southern Dagestan and northeastern Azerbaijan and who speak the Lezgian language.- Historical concept :While ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred...
. However, the small Bahá'í Nakhichevan community is harassed by the authorities and they lack freedom of association and where a leading Bahá'í was arrested in 2004. Officials claimed he was not imprisoned for his religious beliefs though officials extracted a verbal promise from him not to speak further of his religion to anyone.
See also
- Bahá'í Faith by countryBahá'í Faith by countryThe Bahá'í Faith is a diverse and widespread religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in the 19th century in Iran. Bahá'í sources usually estimate the worldwide Bahá'í population to be above 5 million. Most encyclopedias and similar sources estimate between 5 and 6 million Bahá'ís in the world in the early...
- Religion in AzerbaijanReligion in AzerbaijanThe religions of Azerbaijan comprise different religious trends spread among the people and ethnic groups residing in the country. There are several confessions in Azerbaijan....
- History of AzerbaijanHistory of AzerbaijanAzerbaijan or Azarbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. It's bounded by Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's Daghestan region to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the southwest, and Iran to the south...
- Bahá'í Faith in TurkeyBahá'í Faith in TurkeyThe Bahá'í faith bears a strong bond to the nation of Turkey as Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, was exiled to Constantinople, current-day Istanbul, by the Ottoman authorities during the formative days of the religion...
- Bahá'í Faith in TurkmenistanBahá'í Faith in TurkmenistanThe Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan begins before Russian advances into the region when the area was under the influence of Persia. By 1887 a community of Bahá'í refugees from religious violence in Persia had made a religious center in Ashgabat. Shortly afterwards — by 1894 — Russia made...
- Bahá'í Faith in UkraineBahá'í Faith in UkraineThe Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Ukraine, as part of the Russian Empire, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith as far back as 1847...
- Persecution of Bahá'ísPersecution of Bahá'ísThe persecution of Bahá'ís is the religious persecution of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world...