Azerbaijan hijab ban exposes pressure in ‘brotherly’ ties with Turkey – International report
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a staunch advocate of Muslim rights, has been notably silent on Azerbaijan’s current hijab ban in faculties. For years, Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have shared a detailed alliance, however the ban is placing the Turkish president in a good spot.
School uniform guidelines launched in September in predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan, which is a secular state, have been used to bar pupils carrying the hijab. Teachers have additionally reported being excluded. The new guidelines don’t explicitly point out hijabs, however prohibit clothes deemed incompatible with college uniforms or secular training.
With Turkish social media awash with movies of Azerbaijani kids carrying hijabs and pleading to be let into their faculties, the ban has sparked outrage amongst Turkey’s non secular conservatives.
Yet Erdogan, a vocal defender of Muslim rights each at residence and on the planet stage, has remained silent on the problem.
“He’s unusually muted as a result of Azerbaijan and Turkey, in fact, had this extraordinarily good relationship,“ stated Turkish political analyst Sezin Oney. “If it had been one other nation, he would have had a harsher response.”
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Baku’s response
Erdogan, who’s religiously conservative, rose to political prominence within the Nineties by difficult the same ban in Turkish universities, and went on to turn into a worldwide advocate of Muslim rights.
Oney predicts his silence on Azerbaijan will harm this status.
“[It’s] a far cry from the times when Erdogan may get up towards the highly effective of the planet. That was the picture he projected, and now he can not even stand as much as Aliyev.”
Aliyev has publicly dismissed criticism of the hijab ban by one of many Turkish president’s advisors and Baku has issued overseas arrest warrants for a number of outstanding Turkish Islamist and conservative figures, together with banning others from coming into the nation after comparable criticism.
Azerbaijani officers accuse the critics of threatening its sovereignty and nationwide safety.
Shifting standing
Aliyev and Erdogan have loved shut ties for greater than 20 years, constructed on financial and defence cooperation, with the mantra of ‘two states, one nation’.
“Erdogan and Turkey [still] see Azerbaijan as a little bit brother,” explains Tbilisi-based defence and safety skilled Eugene Kogan.
“I believe that is not the angle that comes from Baku as a result of they are saying fairly clearly that their relationship is not between a giant brother and a little bit brother, and their relationship is now of equals.”
He added: “I believe this phrase ‘equal’ shouldn’t be totally accepted in Ankara. So that places a pressure on bilateral relations between the 2 nations.”
Energy-rich Azerbaijan is rising in financial significance, as compared with Turkey’s struggling marketplace. It can also be amongst Turkey’s largest overseas buyers.
Earlier this month, the 2 nations signed arms agreements price greater than $500 million. Azerbaijan’s state oil firm SOCAR says it has invested round $19.5 billion in Turkey.
“SOCAR is the flagship of investments in Turkey – it is enormous,” stated Turkish analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Investments.
“Turkey has a persistent deficit in plastics and petrochemicals. In reality, there are plans to ascertain an enormous petrochemical complicated within the Adana or Antalya space with a price of $10 billion. I don’t suppose home capital has that sort of funding. Eventually, if Turkey desires to cowl its petrochemical deficit, it wants SOCAR to get entangled.”
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Relations with Israel
Azerbaijan’s deepening relationship with Israel, regardless of its Turkish ally’s condemnation of Israel’s conflict in Gaza and broader escalating tensions, is one other supply of friction with Ankara.
International media reported that Azerbaijan signed a $235 million arms cope with Israel’s Elbit Systems this month, though neither aspect has commented on the studies.
Azerbaijan additionally stays a key oil provider to Israel, with oil piped via Turkey and shipped from the Turkish Ceyhan port. In 2024, Erdogan moved swiftly to suppress mounting protests towards these exports – protests led largely by non secular conservatives who kind an important a part of his political assist.
However, Kogan believes Israel is not going to attempt to exploit any rift between Baku and Ankara. “The stability of relations between Ankara, Baku and Tel Aviv may be very, essential for Tel Aviv,” Kogan stated.
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Baku final yr hosted talks between Turkey and Israel aimed toward defusing tensions over Syria.
‘[Isreal] understands that it may come to conflict [with Turkey] and Baku can nonetheless act as a gathering level for each nations. I can not actually consider one other assembly level between Ankara and Tel Aviv in the meanwhile,” Kogan stated.
With Turkey the principle export route for Azerbaijan’s oil and fuel, mutual dependency stays a robust means to comprise any tensions.
Gasimov suggests the present rift is a part of a studying course of.
“I wouldn’t learn it as reshuffling or rebalancing, however relatively as a brand new chapter that will have opened up now, if the 2 sides study from it and are prepared to just accept these sorts of variations.”
As Turkey wrestles with mounting monetary and financial woes, Erdogan is predicted to search for methods to clean issues over along with his prosperous neighbour. But the total affect on their ties of this dispute stays to be seen.
