From a secret meeting in Qom to attacks on schools in Baku: Where do the traces lead?

“One of the attacks on schools carried out under the claim of a ‘hijab ban’ featured a religious lament containing the words ‘Imam zaman canazadə dəftəri’. The person reciting the lament and calling on students to protest was not a school student, and it is not even known whether this person was a parent. What is clear is that the attacks began after the implementation of school uniforms was turned into a ‘hijab ban’ controversy, and that these attacks are being coordinated.”

TodayPress TV reports that these words were written by political analyst Asif Narimanli.

He said the details speak for themselves:

“1. A ‘hijab support’ rally had already been scheduled for October 12 last week, and attacks on various schools began simultaneously in the early hours of this morning.

Although schoolchildren appeared at the forefront as participants in the rally, it is evident that they were being directed.

In an attack on one of the schools that resulted in doors and windows being smashed, teenage students also appear to have taken part. Who is prompting them to do this?

At first glance, one might think that parents are behind the attacks, given that schoolchildren are at the forefront. However, most parents would not put their own children forward and incite them to carry out attacks, even if they objected to the hijab issue. This very point provides grounds to believe that the attacks on schools are being orchestrated by certain groups.”

Where, then, do the traces lead?

The political analyst said the slogans being chanted and the way the attacks were organised were familiar patterns. The same methods had also been used in Nardaran and Ganja:

“Those who once set police vehicles on fire in Nardaran have now set fire to a school principal’s car in Garadagh. In Yasamal, an attempt to set fire to one of the school buildings was prevented. There are details pointing to Iran. This is not merely about the fact that Iran has repeatedly used the claim of a ‘hijab ban in Azerbaijan’ to manipulate public opinion, or the allegations that the attacks in Nardaran and Ganja were carried out from that country. What is particularly striking is that the events escalated to their current stage after a meeting held in Qom.

On September 30, a group of ‘Azerbaijani clerics and students’ held a conference in Qom over the alleged ‘hijab ban’. The campaign expanded following that event, and a list of school principals was compiled. The list was circulated by members of the ‘European representation’ of the Iran-linked Muslim Unity Movement. The attacks were then organised.”

According to Asif Narimanli, one of the key aspects is the use of minors as instruments in the campaign and school protests:

“Experience has confirmed that using children in religious and ideological provocations is not a ‘red line’ for Iran. The purpose of the Azerbaijani state’s introduction of a uniform dress code in educational institutions is also to prevent students — our future — from becoming victims of religious and ideological provocations by foreign forces.”

Giymat Mahir