Commander urges Azerbaijan to respect Islamic rules

A senior Iranian military commander called on the Azeri President, Ilham Aliyev, to strengthen his government by respecting Islamic rules and people demands. "I hope Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would pay heed to the issues which strengthen pillars of his government, otherwise he will face a dark future since people's awakening cannot be suppressed," Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi. "People's awakening cannot be suppressed. Some neighboring and Muslim states with which we enjoy friendly relations continue to ignore friendship criteria and give freedom to Zionist regime (of Israel) to meddle in their country's affairs. They also give command to bar Islamic rules," Firouzabadi added. Azerbaijani officials have been preventing Muslim schoolgirls wearing headscarves from attending schools. Hundreds of people staged demonstrations in Azerbaijan and called on the government to overturn the decree. They also chanted slogans against the anti-Islamic law. The peaceful demonstrations were stopped by police and security forces that resorted to force and detained a number of people. Some civil society activists agree that the ban on hijab in schools violates the constitutional right to freedom of religion.