Thread by @bemer_bahar

🧵🇦🇿 Multi-Religious, Secular Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is a country that practices multiculturalism, a country where people experience multiple religions, languages, and ethnicities every day.

☪️ Around 2000 Mosques
✝️ 13 Churches
✡️7 Synagogues
1/

🟪✝️5 churches belong to the Orthodox community,4 churches belong to the Georgian Orthodox community,1 church belongs to the Lutheran,1 to the Catholic & 2 to the Alban-Udi religious community.

🟪✡️2 Jewish synagogues are in Baku,2 in Oghuz and 3 in the Red Settlement of Guba.2/

🟪Religion in the Republic of Azerbaijan is separate from the state. All religions are equal before the law.

☦️ Orthodox churches of Azerbaijan below: 3/

🟪Azerbaijan does not discriminate its historical and cultural heritage based on religious and ethnic ground.
All non-active religious objects are protected by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan.

☦️🇬🇪Georgian Orthodox Churches below: 4/

🟪🇦🇿According to Article 48 of the Constitution, each citizen has freedom of conscience, the right to freely formulate his attitude towards religion, express and extend the views connected with any religion and carry out religious rites.

✝️Lutheran church below: 5/

🟪As Azerbaijan is a secular country the 1996 law stated that foreigners have freedom of conscience.

✝️Roman Catholic church below: 6/

🟪Azerbaijan is the home to the Albanian-Udi religious community. Udins living primarily in the northern regions of Azerbaijan are direct descendants of Caucasian Albania.

The Albanian Apostolic Churches are part of 🇦🇿Christian heritage.

✝️Khudavang Monastery Complex below: 7/

🟪Azerbaijan is home to one of Europe's largest synagogues.
Today, 7 synagogues have been preserved. They are all built of bricks, and the larger ones are decorated with onion domes.
✡️Synagogues of Azerbaijan below: 8/

🟪The Mountain Jews' synagogue building in Baku has been in existence since 1945. After the end of WWII, the mountain Jews were given an ancient building in the city center to meet their religious needs.

✡️Mountain Jews synagogue below: 9/

🟪Despite the conflict with Armenia, Azerbaijan has presented the church as proof of their tolerance of minorities,especially the Arm-s.
Decree of the cabinet of Azerbaijan listed the church as an historical & cultural monument of national importance.

Armenian Church below: 10/

🟪The main religion in Azerbaijan is Islam,though Azerbaijan is the most secular country in the Muslim world.
Most are adherents of Shia Islam (≈85%), with a minority (≈15%) being Sunni,differences traditionally have not been defined sharply.

☪️Mosques of Azerbaijan below: 11/

🟪Despite the fact that all religious sites are protected by the 🇦🇿Azerbaijani government, Azerbaijani mosques have unfortunately been destroyed as a result of the 🇦🇲Armenian aggression during the occupation of Karabakh. Mosques were used as a stable for cattle and swine. 12/

🟪Baku Ateshgah (Fire Temple of Baku) was a pilgrimage and philosophical centre of Zoroastrians and Hindus from Northwestern Indian Subcontinent, who were involved in trade with the Caspian area via the famous “Grand Trunk Road”.

🛕Ateshgah - Fire Temple below: 13/