Azerbaijan and Armenia Conflict Given Religion Angle
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Alaina
- . December 19, 2023
- . Update: December 19, 2023 6:26 pm
With peace slowly and steadily trickling into the South Caucasus region, Azerbaijan is wary about Armenia using religion for politics and igniting conflict.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, said he was a revanchist and called for war. “We should think that we are doing God’s work on earth, the restoration of justice, truth and salvation. And yes, this is the path of revenge. What other way is there to restore your home?”
But religious figures on both sides have also advocated for peace.
Amid heightening tensions in October 2020, Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili invited Armenian and Azerbaijani clergy to come together. He convened a multi-confessional joint service for peace in Tbilisi. Notably, this service was held at the Peace Cathedral in Georgia to encourage interfaith dialogue between Christianity, Islam and Judaism – the three Abrahamic faiths.
In the latest September conflict, Nagorno-Karabakh’s ancient Christian heritage came into the spotlight when Azerbaijani forces retook the territory. Father David described it as one of the darkest pages of Armenian history. “The whole of Armenian history is full of hardships. The blow we are receiving now is one of the heaviest.”
Azerbaijan Protects Religious Freedom
Despite religious concerns raised by Armenians, Azerbaijan being a secular country protects all religious heritage. Azerbaijan tried to assure Armenians who stay in Karabakh will be free to practice their religion. But many expressed fear of discrimination.
Moreover, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said last Easter that preservation and promotion of ethno-cultural diversity, rich multicultural values and centuries old traditions of tolerance is one of the main directions of the state policy of Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan is one of the few countries with exemplary state-religious relations, where all-round attention and care is paid to the cultural heritage of different peoples. In the conditions of national-spiritual solidarity, Christians of Azerbaijan live their traditions, religious beliefs, language and culture.”
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Armenia – Azerbaijan Ethnic Conflict
Acknowledging the same, Father David said the enmity between Armenians and Azeris was not religious. He pointed out that Armenia has stronger ties with Iran, which shares a Shiite Islamic faith with Azerbaijan.
Father David said Armenia and Azerbaijan have a political and ethnic conflict. Regional watchers say nationalists have used religion to exaggerate the differences between the two countries. It should be noted that the conflict over Karabakh has never taken a religious dimension. But religion creeps in time and again. International media reports give it “Christian Armenia” and “Muslim Azerbaijan” angle.
