Azerbaijan

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Population and Location

Azerbaijan is located in Southwestern Asia. It borders the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small part of it extending into Europe to the north of the Caucasus mountain range. As of July 2006, the population was at 7,961,619. The majority of Azerbaijanis follow Islam. Officially, Muslims make up 93.4% of the population, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, and others 1.8%. Over 90% of the people are ethnic Azerbaijanis. The official language is Turkic.

History

Azerbaijan is an ancient country with history dating back to the second century BC. The Arabs converted the Azerbaijanis to Islam at the sword,as was their custom, in the early eighth century. Over the next few centuries, the country saw many different rulers and frequent Mongol invasions. In the 18th century, Azerbaijan fell under Russian control and remained conquered until 1918-1920, when it had a brief period of independence. In 1920, the Soviets invaded and controlled the country until the state became independent once again at the USSR's collapse in 1991.

Culture

Azerbaijan is an ancient nation rich with culture. Some of the works of art discovered are over 4000 years old. Azerbaijanis have been noted for their carpet making ever since the first century BC. Folk music and dances are very important to the people and are still performed today. Literature flourished in the middle ages.

Government

The current president of Azerbaijan is Ilham Aliyev. He is the son of the former Soviet leader Heydar Aliyev. Both the current and former presidents have bad human rights records and corruption. The 2005 election was widely criticized in the West. The media is mostly under state control, and dissenting journalists are frequently intimidated or killed.

Religious Freedoms

To this day, religious freedoms are restricted in Azerbaijan. However, Christian Missionary activity continues in the country.