Youths against Anti-Hijab Stands of Azerbaijani MP
Anti-Hijab statements of Azerbaijani MP Saber Rostamkhanli angered the youths attending his speech.
Rostamkhanli, who heads the congress of world Azerbaijanis in answer to a question said he has no belief in Hijab.
This drew strong criticism from the participants in the session, most of whom were young.
One of the young participants slammed the MP’s remarks at a time when many Muslim girls in Azerbaijan are not allowed to attend classes in schools and universities and many young men are in jail for defending Hijab.
His statements received huge support from the participants and Rostamkhanli was forced to leave the event.
The government of Azerbaijan in December 2010 imposed a ban on Hijab in schools across the Muslim-majority country.
Several pro-Hijab activists have since been arrested during protests against the ban.
In January 2011, Baku attempted to undermine the pro-Hijab movement in the country by rounding up Muslim activists and pressing unsubstantiated charges against them.
Around 98 percent of the population of Azerbaijan is Muslim and a ban on the Islamic dress code is not mentioned in the country's constitution.
Muslim communities in Azerbaijan blame the growing secularism in the country on Tel Aviv and accuse Israel of being behind the anti-Islamic programs.
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This drew strong criticism from the participants in the session, most of whom were young.
One of the young participants slammed the MP’s remarks at a time when many Muslim girls in Azerbaijan are not allowed to attend classes in schools and universities and many young men are in jail for defending Hijab.
His statements received huge support from the participants and Rostamkhanli was forced to leave the event.
The government of Azerbaijan in December 2010 imposed a ban on Hijab in schools across the Muslim-majority country.
Several pro-Hijab activists have since been arrested during protests against the ban.
In January 2011, Baku attempted to undermine the pro-Hijab movement in the country by rounding up Muslim activists and pressing unsubstantiated charges against them.
Around 98 percent of the population of Azerbaijan is Muslim and a ban on the Islamic dress code is not mentioned in the country's constitution.
Muslim communities in Azerbaijan blame the growing secularism in the country on Tel Aviv and accuse Israel of being behind the anti-Islamic programs.
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