Muslims in Nigeria Rally against Oppression of Shia in Azerbaijan Republic

By Staff, Agencies

Muslims in Nigeria gathered to denounce the persecution and torture of Shiite members of the Muslim Movement for Unity [MMU] and its leader, Sheikh Haj Taleh Baqir Zadeh, by the Azerbaijan Republic.

Abdullah Musa, national secretary of the Islamic movement's academic forum, joined the demonstration that was held on Saturday at the Abuja National Mosque.

"The government [of Azerbaijan] is prosecuting them illegally, unconditionally,” Musa was quoted as saying.

"Therefore, every Muslim must stand against tyranny and oppression.”

Demonstrators and the participating youth took to the streets and chanted "death to America, death to ‘Israel’."

“The essence of the rally is to show our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Azerbaijan particularly their leader, Haj Taleh Baqir Zadeh. We are using this opportunity to call on them to release them immediately,” said Bala Hassan Bauchi, another member of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.

“We use this medium to call on the people of the world to support the people of Azerbaijan and again the people of Yemen and Palestine. All of them are oppressed and they need the world's attention," he added.

In a similar protest, Muslims in Kano State held a rally in solidarity with the oppressed Shiites of Azerbaijan.

Hundreds of Muslims gathered at Fagge Eid prayer ground holding photos of Baqir Zadeh, along with a solidarity speech for the oppressed.

"We are from the part of the committee for the solidarity of the Azerbaijani brothers who were unjustly detained by Azerbaijan's authorities,” said Dawud Nalado in Kano State.

“Haj Taleh Baqir Zadeh and our brothers and sisters should be released because they are being detained unjustifiably."

Baqir Zadeh, known as Tale Baghirov, who is serving a life sentence along with 17 other activists, was accused of attempting to overthrow the government.

According to local observers, the real trigger for his arrest was a fiery sermon he delivered in Nardaran, Azerbaijan.

Known for speaking up against the ban on headscarves in schools, Baqir Zadeh had called for more Islamic representation in the Azerbaijani political system.

A London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission released a statement on Friday about the persecution of MMU members, and called the Azerbaijani government “corrupt.”