The author of the issue is studying compatibility of the modern Muslim practice and secular democratic State. The main topics of the issue are Religious person and secular State; Modern Muslim practice and Islamophobia; Religious radicalism and authoritarian government; Religion and National Identification process. Hikmet Hadjy-zadeh, is one of the founders of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. He was also Deputy Prime-Minister and ambassador to Russia during the term of Elchibey's government (1992-1993). At present he is President of the FAR CENTRE (Think Tank) dealing with transition to democracy problems in his country.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the appearance of new independent states in its place resulted in dramatic changes in geopolitics. Azerbaijan emerged as one of the new spheres of interest in the world community. Its historical legacy as well as being a meeting point of western and eastern cultures makes it worthwhile for research. Its moderate Islamic framework and its unique character as the only country throughout the post-Soviet space in which a major part of the population belong to Shia Islam distinguish it from other Muslim republics. The main focus of this investigation lies on the interaction between Islam, state and society that took place in Azerbaijan within the unique historical-cultural and socio-political contexts. Rufat Sattarov shows the role Islam played historically in Azerbaijan conditioned specific features of the so-called Islamic revival in the country in the post-Soviet period.

As the geographical diversity of the Muslim world stretches from Europe to Africa, through the Middle East and into Asia, this region mirrors a central finding of this study - that predominantly Muslim countries include an array of constitutional measures addressing the role of Islam and the scope of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, and other related human rights.THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION & BELIEF analyzes these constitutional measures currently in place related to the relationship between religion and the state in addition to freedom of religion or belief in predominantly Muslim countries.Issued in March 2005 as The Religion-State Relationship and the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Comparative Textual Analysis of the Constitutions of Predominantly Muslim Countries, this report was originally prepared by Tad Stahnke, J.D., Deputy Director for Policy; and Robert C. Blitt, M.A., J.D., LL.M., Legal Policy Analyst of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).USCIRF is an independent federal commission created the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and relation or belief abroad and to give independent recommendations to the Secretary of State and Congress. For additional information about the Commission, please visit www.uscirf.gov.

Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Orientalism / Sinology - Islamic Studies, grade: A, language: English, abstract: A number of researches have been conducted regarding practicing religion in different regimes; however, there is a lack of studies about the practice of religion in Post-Soviet countries including Azerbaijan. So, the current study describes and compares adhering to the principles of Islam in Baku during the Soviet time and in independent Azerbaijan. The study was conducted by using a qualitative research method. Namely, semi-structured individual interviews and observations revealed that there is a significant gap between these two periods in terms of practicing Islam, and because of an educational system, access to worship places, and religious declarations, Islam is more practiced now in comparison to the Soviet time. In conclusion, the research can be used as a model by historians, religious experts, and researchers who are interested in the religious situation of Post-Soviet countries in the Soviet time and after their independence; additionally causes of why people who do not adhere to the principles of Islam regard themselves as Muslim may be a topic of further researches.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is the Muslim world's only intergovernmental body-the largest such system operating outside of the United Nations. This is the first history of the OIC.

This up-to-date and comprehensive encyclopedia focuses on the population in each of the 194 countries of the world. Emphasis is on the world's population at the end of the twentieth century and on predictions for the next fifty years. This will be the authoritative source of information for students, scholars, librarians, government officials, and journalists.

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 192 countries and a group of select territories are used by policy makers, the media, international corporations, and civic activists and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. Press accounts of the survey findings appear in hundreds of influential newspapers in the United States and abroad and form the basis of numerous radio and television reports. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.