Azerbaijan

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Recently a Christian visited one of the few public gatherings of Christians in Baku, the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, of 2 million people. Crowding into the men’s section, he met Elxan, a gray-haired Azerbaijani. Elxan showed a notebook of his handwritten poetry and read one of his poems, exposing his rich faith. The congregation’s enthusiastic response revealed his skill for weaving gospel truths into rich Azerbaijani form. It also showed that the universal gospel can wear Azerbaijani clothes!

Daily Life is Hard in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a land of high mountain ranges and low river valleys, bordering Russia in the north and Iran in the south. The traditional religion of the Azeris is Shiite Islam, which has experienced a revival in recent years. Known to be lovers of poetry and music, the Azerbaijanis have plenty to write about, but their history carries much sorrow. Calling themselves “sword Muslims,” Azerbaijanis tell that their ancient ancestors had embraced Christianity, but knelt involuntarily to Islam when invaded by Arabs.

For centuries Azerbaijan has been swallowed by conquering empires, including the Persians, Ottomans, and Russians. In recent years, one million refugees, displaced by the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, coupled with the ever-present sore of foreign occupation on Azerbaijani soil has created a humanitarian crisis that affects the stability of the entire Caucuses. Internally, rampant corruption pollutes the land, making bribes a common affair to accomplish even small tasks. Daily life is hard.

The Church in Azerbaijan

Yet, in such soil Christ’s church is growing, though it’s still centered mainly in Baku. However, a deadly root from the past - a deep mistrust of others (common to both Communistic and Islamic societies) - threatens widespread growth. Such fear presents a formidable obstacle to many new believers in budding home fellowships as they try to build Christian communities of acceptance and trust.

The church saw a surge of growth in the mid-90’s, from less than a 100 Azerbaijani believers to perhaps as many as 10,000 making professions of faith in Christ. Yet today, the number of baptized disciples is much smaller. Today the percentage of Azerbaijani believers is less than 0.1% of the population.

Pray for the Muslims in Azerbaijan:

* Pray for Azerbaijani evangelists to take the gospel to all parts of the land. (Romans 10:13) Labourers coming from other nations are exploring new ways of cooperation and unity. Pray that this continues and deepens.

* Pray for the leadership of Azerbaijan (Psalm 29:1).

* Christians working among the Azerbaijani have set up a 24-hour prayer watch that has been gaining momentum in the last few years. Pray for these faithful workers.

Background on Azerbaijan (World Factbook)

Azerbaijan - a nation with a Turkic and majority-Muslim population - was briefly independent from 1918 to 1920; it regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 528,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous, and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan’s undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled.

About Azerbaijan

Population: 8,177,717 (July 2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 66.31 years

Ethnic groups: Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9% (1999 census)

Fact of Interest: Almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region

Religions: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8%
note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower

Languages: Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1%

Literacy: 98.8% — Male: 99.5%, Female: 98.2%

Oil wealth ‘kept from Azerbaijan’s poor’ - Video

Azerbaijan has potentially lucrative oil reserves, but opposition politicians say widespread corruption has left revenues from the country’s natural resources in the hands of a small number …