religion

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The statue of the goddess Anahit. Photo: British Museum

Armenia

Display of pre-Christian Armenian statue leads to concerns of ‘evil ritual’

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•2 min read

The planned display of a statue of a pre-Christian Armenian goddess in Yerevan has prompted online criticism on religious grounds. The head of Anahit, a major pre-Christian Armenian goddess of fertility and healing, is being loaned to Armenia’s History Museum for six months by the British Museum. On Monday, History Museum director Davit Poghosyan said the statue’s display at the History Museum would begin on Armenia’s independence day this year, 21 September. It will be part of an exhibi

A mob led by Orthodox priests attempting to break into Imam Merab Mikeladze’s home to disrupt his prayer.

Georgia

Mob led by Georgian Orthodox priests threatens local imam over Friday prayer

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•3 min read

Georgian Orthodox priests in southwestern Georgia led a mob of 200 people in an attempt to break into the house of a local imam to disrupt Friday prayer. The mob attempted to break into Imam Merab (Yusuf) Mikeladze’s house in Adigeni in Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region on Friday. Batumelebi reported that Mikeladze had been holding Friday prayers at his house for the past ‘few years’, which some in Adigeni, including members of the Orthodox clergy, protested. Footage of the incident

Shahin Hasanli. Photo: Shahin Hasanli/Facebook

Azerbaijan

Leading Azerbaijani theologian dead at 48

by Ismi Aghayev

•1 min read

Haji Shahin Hasanli, a leading Azerbaijani theologian and imam, died early Thursday morning, reportedly of a heart attack. News of Hasanli’s death was first shared on his Facebook page. Hasanli was one of the most influential religious figures in the country. Serving as an imam at the Mashadi Dadash mosque in Baku, he was also an authorised representative of the Caucasus Muslims Board. The theologian’s funeral took place at Mashadi Dadash mosque later on Thursday. Haji Shahin Hasanli

Analysis

Datablog | Does religion make Georgians happy?

by Davit Lursmanashvili

•3 min read

While research internationally suggests a link between religion and people’s happiness, does the same stand true for Georgia? The connection between religion and happiness has been explored in a wide variety of studies, with data pointing to the religious being happier in many countries. However, data from the ISSP survey on religion, which was conducted in Georgia in early 2020, suggests that there is relatively weak evidence of religiosity being tied to happiness in Georgia. To explore wh

Saint George's Armenian Apostolic Church in Tbilisi. Photo: Dominik Cagara/OC Media.

Analysis

Datablog | Past wars have taught Georgians both to fear and be tolerant of minorities

by Nino Zubashvili

•5 min read

Public polling shows how Georgia’s ethnic conflicts have shaped attitudes towards ethnic and linguistic minorities. But how are fear and tolerance linked to ethno-nationalist sentiments in the country? Since the beginning of the 1990s, Georgia has gone through a number of ethnic conflicts that have not been resolved to this day. Given that Georgia has always been a multi-ethnic country, and the traumatic experience of unresolved conflicts, attitudes towards ethnic minorities matter. Recently r

Muslim men heading towards the village centre a day after the violent incident. Image: Batumelebi

Georgia

Muslims attacked over new prayer space in western Georgia

by Shota Kincha

•5 min read

A religious dispute that has recently escalated into violence, has split Buknari village in Georgia’s Guria region along religious lines. Critics have accused the government of mishandling the situation and manipulating the locals with promises during the election campaign. On 14 January, local Muslims gathered in the centre of the Buknari village in the southwestern Georgian region of Guria for a third day, demanding for their right to congregate and pray free from the threat of violence.

Adjara

Georgian Muslim villages fight back against Orthodox Church land-grab

by Dato Parulava

•7 min read

Residents of two villages in southern Georgia are suing the government for transferring land they have used for decades to the Georgian Orthodox Church. They claim the lands are vital for them to sustain their families, but local church officials — who plan to build a monastery in the predominantly Muslim area — don’t share their concerns. The land in question is a roughly 8-hectare plot lying between the villages of Kikibo and Dertseli in Adigeni Municipality. Since the 1990s local resi