The construction of Azerbaijani mosques is mainly financed by Kuwait
and Turkey, Trend reports, citing a statement by the head of the state
committee for religious structures Gigayat Orudzhev.
Kuwait has built 73 mosques in Azerbaijan, Turkey - 21, Saudi Arabia -
1, he said.
Orudzhev said that Azerbaijan built many mosques in the 1990s, but
some of them were built illegally. No legal mosques have been
demolished, he said. The authorities will continue taking down illegal
mosques, he added.
Orudzhev also said that last year there were 2 391 kinds of religious
books brought to Azerbaijan, 385 of them were considered unacceptable
and returned. This year 993 kinds of books were imported, 125 of them
were considered unacceptable.
He said that attempts to import such books are aimed at augmenting
inter-ethnic tensions and to politicize religion.
