Including Azerbaijan in the US State Department’s “Special Watch List,” based on a report issued by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), has raised eyebrows, particularly in light of the fact that Azerbaijan is the oldest majority-Muslim secular republic, and the home and haven to Jewish and varied Christian communities since antiquity, reads an article “Freedom for extremism or freedom from extremism? Critical problems with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom” published by Jewish Journal, Report informs.
Azerbaijan has been labeled in popular media as an “oasis of tolerance” and as a component of that achievement, Azerbaijan disallows extremism to enter and operate in the country, according to the article.
“One of the leading staffers of the USCIRF is its Chief of Public Affairs, Danielle Ashbahian, previously employed as Director of Communications by the Armenian Assembly of America, one of the two main Armenian lobby groups in the US, known for their anti-Azerbaijani campaigns.
The question we must ask USCIRF is what in the world should nations like Azerbaijan do differently? And why would the United States advocate for peaceful democracies to suffer infiltration from foreign extremists, undeterred?”