Arif Yunusov: Islamic revolution in Azerbaijan may happen not sooner than quarter of century

Arif Yunusov, a historian and the author of the newly published book "Islamic Factor in Azerbaijan", believes that Azerbaijan continues repressing Islamists, while the state tries controlling processes in the religious community; along with that, the authorities are using the Islamic factor for propaganda purposes.

The presentation of the book took place on July 9 in Baku. The book in Russian and English was published by the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) of Azerbaijan.

According to the historian, the book is based on the results of opinion polls conducted in five regions of the country, researches of the employees of the IPD and the analysis of media publications about the Islam in Azerbaijan and reports about trials against Islamists.

According to Yunusov's calculations, by the time of publication of his second book, in total, 562 people are arrested in Azerbaijan on religious grounds; criminal charges have been initiated against 296 people from among them, including Sunnis, persecuted for their proximity to Wahhabis, and Shiites, punished for wearing hijabs.

At the request of the "Caucasian Knot" Mr Yunusov gave a forecast for the development of the Islamic movement in Azerbaijan.

"If the Islamic Revolution as such happens, it will occur in some 20-25 years, given the fact that every year more and more young people come into the religion. Today, when only a fifth of the population really believes in Allah; and they are split into different trends that don't have their own leaders, no Islamic revolution in Azerbaijan is possible," said Yunusov.