There is a rich historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in the territory of present-day Armenia. Unfortunately, although many of them have been destroyed by radical Armenians in the last 30 years, traces of our existence in our historical lands have not been completely erased. Today, the only mosque in the country, the Blue Mosque, operates in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Despite attempts to present our historical heritage as part of Iranian culture, many of our historical and religious monuments are currently inactive. It should be noted that today, within the framework of the normalization process between the two countries, proposals are being made for the restoration of our historical and religious monuments and their transfer to the jurisdiction of the Caucasus Muslims Office, as was the case in the past.
In a statement to Modern.az, Bakhtiyar Najafov, Deputy Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office, stated that the institution is making efforts for the restoration of our religious sites and history in Western Azerbaijan:
"Yesterday, a high-level event was held under the leadership of His Holiness the Sheikh, jointly organized by the Western Azerbaijan Community and the Yerevan Qazilik. Many issues were discussed at the event. During the meeting, the preservation of religious and cultural heritage related to Western Azerbaijan, the fate of historical monuments, and future prospects were extensively discussed. Serious discussions were held regarding the elimination of our religious heritage, alongside cultural and historical monuments belonging to Azerbaijanis in Yerevan and surrounding areas. Today, the Armenian state calls for peace and signs documents, but the church, as always, pursues a revanchist policy and does not even agree with its own state.
Bakhtiyar Najafov stated that there are over 700 cemeteries and more than 500 mosques belonging to Azerbaijanis in Armenia, and some of them have been destroyed.
"Only the walls of the Tepebashi Mosque remain, and only the Blue Mosque has survived and is operational. It is also managed under a different name today. Overall, all of these are our rights. As always, everyone eventually receives their rights. We, too, must achieve the restoration of our religious rights through our victory and the foreign policy pursued by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. This is our right.
However, today everything continues in a positive direction at a peaceful level, provided it does not deviate from the framework of the policy pursued by Mr. President. God willing, we are also making efforts for the restoration of our religious sites and history."
The Deputy Sheikh also noted that two books will be published in this direction. Furthermore, work is also underway on separate scientific articles and a book about religious scholars from Yerevan. The Qazilik plans to hold the presentation of these publications in the near future.
Regarding the return of mosques and religious monuments to the jurisdiction of the Caucasus Muslims Office, the Deputy Sheikh said the following:
"After the peace agreement is signed, the issue of the restoration of our mosques and religious monuments in Western Azerbaijan and their placement under the jurisdiction of the Caucasus Muslims Office, as they were previously, must be resolved. Currently, Armenians have places of worship in our country where they can pray. At the same time, it is our right that the religious places of worship there be repaired. After the peace agreement is reflected, we, as the peoples of the Caucasus, will once again live together and practice our religion peacefully. As religious figures, we are on the side of words, discourse, and peace, not weapons and war. May our peoples live together, may there be peace."
