Oqtay Atakhan: "Escalation of US-Iranian conflict would be profitable for Russia today and such provocations as an explosion in the Abu Bekir mosque would be timely to provoke its actions"

- How do you think, who has arranged an explosion in the Abu Bekir Mosque?

- The exact answer to this question can be given only by the organizers of this explosion. But if we speak logically, the following conclusions can be made. Thus, it should be taken into account that Azerbaijan today is a cross of political interests of four powerful political and geopolitical players: local powers, United States, Russia and Iran.

Considering the fact that Abu-Bekir mosque is a site of prayer of Vahhabis, such an action, targeting vahhabis, which can cause destabilization of situation before presidential elections, can hardly be profitable for the local powers. The United States does not gain too much from it as well. For if we consider that their potential enemy in the region-Iran is predominantly a Shiite state, it is hard to imagine how the United States can use this explosion for their own purposes that it to bind the special services of Iran to the said explosion and use it as a ground for initiation of military actions.

The Shiite Iran would gain absolutely nothing from destabilization of the situation in Azerbaijan and drawing attention of the whole world community.

The only side, which would profit from it in the light of the Georgian-Russian conflict, in an attempt to distract the attention of the world society from the said conflict to the US-Iranian clash, is Russia. Does Russia really stand behind this explosion? I am sure that if so, the executers of this explosion may not even guess about the real orderer of this provocation.

- Do you think that this explosion is part of the continuing fight for influence in the South Caucasus region, in this case in Azerbaijan between Russia and the United States?

- In the light of the aforementioned statements, the said explosion is directly or indirectly connected with the Russian-Georgian clash and seems to be caused by an intention to stop the growing resentment of the world society by Russia's direct aggression against Georgia and make it forget this unpleasant "incident". Today, the escalation of US-Iranian conflict would be profitable for Russia and such provocations would be timely to provoke its actions?

- Is it possible to speak of the initiation of full scale persecution of Vahhabis?

- No, I do not think so, as this issue is not so urgent in our country so far. Moreover, if we compare radicalism of vahhabism and shiism in present day Azerbaijan, the potential Shiite extremism today is much more dangerous than the potential Vahhabi extremism at least for the political situation in the country. As regards Vahhabism, it is not better or worse than any other Islam trend, as it lies on the same faith with the traditional Islam with its Koran and prophet Mohammed.

- Which consequences may this explosion have in the sense of the overall situation in the country?

- As this explosion has hardly been organized by local powers or any Shiite groupings, I think the said explosion is likely not to have any influence on the overall situation in the country, though local powers should take due measures in order to avert further escalation of such provocations, especially, because the most urgent task for them today is a peaceful and safe conduction of the presidential election campaign.

/Day.Az/