Tag Archives: Islamic extremism

Azerbaijan’s politicians debate Islamic extremism

JAN. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — So-called religious warriors who travel to Syria from Azerbaijan to fight alongside other radical Islamists are driven by cash and not beliefs, MP Govhar Bakhshaliyeva in an online debate.

The authorities in Azerbaijan have become increasingly worried by the number of radical Islamists who have made the relatively short journey to Syria to fight in the civil war.

They fear that many will return both with extremist views and battle hardened.

Ms Bakhshaliyeva, though, said the salary and not the religious cause was the main motivator for many of the men.

“In Syria, as in any other country where there is war and bloodshed, a lot of the fighting is conducted by mercenaries,” an Azerbaijani-language website quoted her as saying.

“As far as I know, the mercenaries in Syria, and these are also European and not just Muslims, are paid about $5,000 every month. People can solve financial problems, and I think this a major attraction for our people to go to Syria.”

Ms Bakhshaliyeva’s views hold more weight than others. She is also the respected head of the Baku Institute of Oriental Studies.

Estimates on the number of Azerbaijan’s who are fighting in Syria vary, but it is roughly around 200.

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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)

Azerbaijan’s Islamists head off to Syria

JAN. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — With an easily accessible war to sign up for on their doorstep, Islamists in Azerbaijan have been slipping into Syria to fight in the conflict.

The APA news agency reported that seven Azerbaijani nationals have been killed this year in Syria.

The authorities in Azerbaijan worry that these men will return home radicalised, battle-hardened and keen to kick up old sectarian fights.

The exact number of Azerbaijanis who have travelled to Syria to fight in the conflict is difficult to pin down but it is probably between 100 and 200. Many, according to reports, are from the Sunni region of Sheki-Zagatala in northern Azerbaijan. Sheki-Zagatala nudges the Caucasus Mountains and the relatively lawless north Caucasus.

The problem for the Azerbaijani authorities is that recruiting videos for the radical Islamist groups fighting in Syria have become increasingly popular. They have given Islamists frustrated in Azerbaijan, the cause they have been looking for.

Writing for meydan.tv, Tamara Grigoryeva investigated reasons for this migration of Azerbaijan-based radicals to Syria. She quoted Gareth Jenkins at the Central Asia-Silk Road Studies programme as saying that it is not difficult for Azerbaijanis to travel to Syria.

“The Turkish government has recently been clamping down on the movement of jihadists across the border into Syria,” he was quoted by Ms Grigoryeva as saying.

“But people are still crossing. Even though it is more difficult than before, it is still relatively easy.”

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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)

NATO withdrawal can increase tensions in Uzbekistan

JAN. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a speech at a military parade, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said the withdrawal of NATO soldiers from Afghanistan would increase tension along the Uzbek-Afghan border and could give Islamic militants the chance to attack. NATO soldiers are planning on withdrawing steadily through 2014.

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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)

Azerbaijan jails another 10 people

DEC. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Baku jailed another 10 people for plotting various attacks during the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2012. Azerbaijan has now jailed 46 people for plotting the attacks which securities officials said were linked to neighbouring Iran.

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(News report from Issue No. 164, published on Dec. 11 2013)

Azerbaijan jails 29 Islamists

NOV. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Baku jailed 29 people linked to the Islamic extremist organisation Al Qaeda for planning a series of attacks ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest last year. Three of the imprisoned men received life sentences. Human rights groups say that Azerbaijan overstates the Islamist threat.

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(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Azerbaijan foils Iranian terrorist plot

NOV. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijani security services said they had arrested a 31-year-old Iranian man for planning to bomb the Israeli embassy in Baku. The Iranian man, Hassan Faraji, denies the charges. Azerbaijan have arrested a number of Iranians for plotting attacks. The arrest strains already tense relations with Iran.

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(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Azerbaijan jails Al Qaeda-linked group

NOV. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The countries of the former Soviet Union are not shy at highlighting the threat that radical Islamists pose to stability. Without heavy police measures, the Islamists would destabilise their countries, they say.

Azerbaijan is no different.

A court in Baku jailed a group of 29 people for allegedly plotting to bomb various targets around Azerbaijan ahead of the Eurovision Song Context in May 2012.

Three of of the group received life sentences.

Analysts and human rights activists have challenged the authorities’ version of events. They have said the state exaggerates the threat to impose their control.

Certainly most of Azerbaijan’s 9m inhabitants are Shi’ite Muslim, although the state itself is nominally secular. The last major bomb attack in Azerbaijan was the 1994 bombing of the Baku metro when 27 people died. Separatists in the north of the country, rather than Islamist extremists, claimed responsibility for the attack.

(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Islamic fighters cross into Azerbaijan

NOV. 14 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Islamist fighters from Russia’s North Caucasus region are crossing into Azerbaijan on their way to fight in Syria, Reuters reported. The movement of Islamic fighters through Azerbaijan is a security concern for the Azerbaijani authorities. Azerbaijan borders Dagestan, in the North Caucasus.

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Kazakh court sentences extremists

NOV. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Atyrau, western Kazakhstan sentenced a 26-year-old man to 20 years in jail for leading an Islamic extremist group blamed for a series of bomb attacks. Orynbasar Munatov was allegedly the head of Jund al-Khilafah, which means Soldiers of the Caliphate. Pakistan extradited him to Kazakhstan in June.

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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

ICG report shows inequality problems in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s oil wealth is masking major structural problems, a report by the Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) said. Corruption, a lack of a succession plan, spreading Islamic extremism and inequalities are the main problems, the report said.

(News report from Issue No. 154, published on Oct. 2 2013)