Radical religious trends on the rise in schools - research

Radical religious tendencies are on the rise among schoolchildren in Azerbaijan, with the increasing number of kids accepting Wahhabism, a local group says.

“A monitoring conducted in schools has shown that the influence of radical religion is rising,” said Farid Shahbazly, chairman of the Youth Leaders organization. “They are making various sweet promises to lure the children.”

Shahbazly went on to say that the research revealed that special missionaries promoting Iran’s ideas are active in a number of local mosques and Medrese (religious schools).

“What is indicative is that these persons are focusing on forcing children and youths to these activities. Sources close to these persons have told us that the number of such [brainwashed] children is rising and they say things like ‘our real homeland is Iran’, while little girls tend to wear Persian clothes. Children are also promised free education in the town of Qom (Iranian city 156 km southwest of Tehran hosting a well-known university teaching Islam) for their consent to propagate Iran’s ideas,” the Youth Leaders head said.*