Azerbaijan holds the key to stopping ISIS

by Ceyhun Osmanli *

The nature and spread of the phenomenon of radicalisation in European Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods is currently the focus of much global attention. Little wonder with terrorist atrocities recently perpetrated in the name of Islam in Turkey, Tunisia, France and Kuwait.

Whereas radicalisation is increasing in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Syria, there has been a weakening in the phenomenon of radicalisation in Azerbaijan.

This is not something that has come about by default but, rather, is the direct result of a series of steps undertaken by the Azerbaijani Government.  This has been achieved through a legal framework ensuring a clear separation between state and religion while scrutinising religious activities in the country. 

Measures which have contributed to this include the establishment of the Caucasus Muslim Board and the State Committee for the Work with Religious Organisations, which are closely involved in the monitoring of potential ISIS recruits facilitating early detection of radicalisation. This is just one of the reasons why radicalisation in Azerbaijan, a country with a population of just 9, 5 million, is lower than in Europe.

Let us underline the secular nature of this Caspian state, which is a rare example in the Muslim world. The Azerbaijani Constitution clearly defines the country as a ‘democratic, legal, secular, unitary republic’ and religious and state affairs are separated according its Article 18. While guaranteeing freedom of religion, including freedom of atheism, the Constitution specifies that no one shall be forced concerning religious matters while prohibiting propaganda based on religion. 

The Law on Freedom of Religious Belief as amended in 1996 prohibits religious violence, regulates faith associations, ensures the independence of state education from religion and bans foreigners from making religious propaganda.

Some of the duties of the Caucasus Muslim Board, a rather autonomous religious instance, include supervising the pilgrimage to sacred lands and providing imams local training in order to prevent any foreign influence. 

On the other hand, the State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations is responsible for registration of religious organisations as well as elimination of judicial loopholes to finance terrorism such as money laundering and illicit donations. The body also closely monitors religious literature, which is one of the main sources of radicalization.

Furthermore, the work of the Azerbaijani Ministry of National Security and the national intelligence service to curb the presence of members or potential members of ISIS, especially by monitoring the activities of mosques and religious organisations, has helped combat radicalisation.  

The adoption of new legislation to prosecute foreign fighters as well as other existing antiterrorist measures also contributed to stop radicalization. Separately, the Law on NGOs was amended in 2014 to impose tighter control on foreign funding in Azerbaijan. This played a role in stopping some NGOs from pursuing radical goals while increasing transparency and addressing terrorist financing activities.

Primarily in cooperation with the European Union, the Council of Europe, NATO and the United States, Azerbaijan is actively involved in anti-terrorism operations. Through its partaking in NATO’s Partnership Action Plan on Terrorism, Azerbaijan shares information and strategic analysis with NATO and collaborates with its Western allies in the area of counter-terrorism trainings and border security. Moreover, the country successfully created an international Anti-Terrorism Training Center at the Academy of the Ministry of National Security. 

In 2009, Azerbaijan adopted specific legislation to fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. Other counterterrorism measures Azerbaijan has legally adopted in line with its international commitments are blacklisting of terrorist organisations, freezing of assets and travel bans. Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Defence, State Border Service and Special State Protection Service participate in counterterrorism operations and are governed under a unified chain of command. 

Special attention is paid to cooperation with the Turkish security forces as the majority of the Azerbaijani fighters join the ranks of ISIS via Turkey. Through well-timed operations, some fighters have been stopped before reaching Syria and Iraq and others were sent to trial for allegedly joining illegal armed forces upon their return.

Let us also recall that the root causes of radicalisation can be identified as lack of education, poverty as well as social and cultural conditions. In this context, it is worthwhile to note that the literacy rate in Azerbaijan is 98%, a sign of the high importance the Azerbaijani government attaches to investment in education. 

In the last decade, new universites, campuses and schools were inaugurated and around 5000 students received state scholarships to study in foreign universities. The threat posed by radicalisation has also been staved off by the current Government focusing on redeveloping Azerbaijan, including the creation of more than 1 million new jobs, something, which has helped steer young people from the path of radicalisation.

That is not to say that the threat of radicalisation is not present in Azerbaijan or, as elsewhere, has not grown since the country became independent from the Soviet Union 24 years ago. Wedged between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan is situated in a difficult geopolitical environment. Even though Azerbaijan doesn’t flirt with the idea of joining the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation or Eurasian Union, the North of Azerbaijan bordering Russia is vulnerable amid provocations by Salafist entities and exploitations of the national minority card. 

However, Azerbaijan’s inclusive policy towards national minorities counterbalances these attempts, playing a great role in eliminating all kinds of discrimination against minorities and leading to the peaceful and harmonious co-existence of all groups in a multi-ethnic society. 

On the other hand, being home to 25 to 30 million ethnic Azerbaijanis, the theocratic political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran is utterly different than Azerbaijan’s secular state model. Azerbaijan’s southern neighbour Iran is active in sponsoring  mosques and humanitarian organisations with the objective of instrumentalising these institutions to conduct ideological propaganda. In addition, Southern Azerbaijan is rich with ethnic minorities, which have been often targeted by interested groups aiming at destabilising the secular and democratic model of the country. 

But the telling point is that while the threat of fundamentalist terrorism and radicalisation still exists to some extent in Azerbaijan, prevention measures have undoubtedly been very effective. Besides, religious and ethnic minorities have been well integrated into social and economic life of the country and duly represented in the Azerbaijani Parliament.

One of the main reasons for Azerbaijan’s success in fighting radicalisation is the peaceful co-existence of groups such as Jews, Christians and Muslims, Sunni and Shia. People of Sunni and Shia denominations, for example, pray in the same mosques in Baku. This, I am convinced, is unique and shows the positive impact of what could be called the multicultural model, that exists within Azerbaijan´s secular system.

Indeed, this is a model that I believe could be exported to help promote peace and reconciliation in the South Caucasus as well as other parts of the Muslim world. And, with the ongoing threat posed by the so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups, never has the need been greater.

Perhaps most importantly, Azerbaijan acts as a bridge between the Western and Arab worlds. It is a young country but it is important to acknowledge our development and modernisation in the 24 years of our independence as well as our added value to the West.

The cooperation between Azerbaijan and the West goes beyond the fight against radicalisation and counterterrorism and expands into economic, political and cultural fields. Azerbaijan has not only supported operations in Iraq and Kosovo but has also contributed troops to the ISAF in Afghanistan and participates in NATO’s Partnership for Peace Programme. 

A staunch economic, political and cultural ally of the West, Azerbaijan cooperated with numerous Western companies for the extraction of Azerbaijani oil and gas. Italy and Israel are the largest importers of Azerbaijani oil, with 40% of Israel’s energy needs being supplied through the Baku-Ceyhan-Tbilisi pipeline.

In the cultural sphere, Azerbaijan supports the reconstruction of the catacombs in Vatican as well as the renovation of the Strasbourg Cathedral as a gesture of openness and respect for other cultures and religions.

Looking to the future, Baku could increase avenues of cooperation in the fight against radicalisation with the West by sharing experience and exchanging best practices. Promoting a secular and harmonious approach to governance in the Caucasus and wider Middle East could be key to stopping ISIS and similar extremist organisations and the Azerbaijani model could serve as a valuable asset for the West in this regard. 

The threat of radicalisation is known to us since the collapse of the Soviet Union and we are ready to engage more with our Western allies to tackle this common challenge. At the same time, we seek greater EU and Western support in understanding the geostrategic complexities and the needs of our region.

* Ceyhun Osmanli is a Member of Parliament to Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan since 2010. He is a member of the International Relations and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Committee. He is also a board member of the World Bank and IMF Parliamentary Network and a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. He is currently the co-rapporteur of the report on Culture and intercultural dialogue in the context of the Eastern Partnership.