Azerbaijan: Official visit by World Evangelical Alliance

Azerbaijan | 30 April 2017

Representatives of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) recently visited the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Azerbaijan as well as government organizations dealing with issues of religion and culture, according to a report published on 10 April 2017 by WEA News. Besides speaking with the leadership of the officially recognized Christian denominations within the country (Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran), visits were made to various leaders of the Muslim and Jewish communities in an effort to gain a fuller picture of the religious landscape and level of religious freedom. In addition, it was possible for the visitors to make contact with the most important human rights organizations in the country. ‚ Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, points out that the WEA report is brief and does not mention any details about the status of religious freedom in Azerbaijan: "The people met by the WEA representatives were very likely selected by the government and there is not a single critical word in the summary. This favorable style of reporting is exactly what the government wants to see: Azerbaijan - Land of Tolerance."