Asalam Aleikum! Very few Muslims, Shia and Sunni know what is happening in the Muslim majority country of Azerbaijan to Muslims since it gained its independence from USSR in 1991. Very few Shia Muslims know that Azerbaijan is the second largest Shia country in percentage terms after Iran, up to 87% of people are Shia Muslims. Great Ulema of the school of Ahlul Bayt (as) like Sayed Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Jafar Subhani, Ayatollah Khoi and Shahid Mustafa Chamran are ethnic Azeris. There are up to 15 million ethnic Azeris living in Iran mainly in the Azerbaijan province of Iran, the capital of the province is Tabriz. Today Azerbaijan Republic is ruled by a despotic regime led by Ilham Aliyev who inherited his power from his father the former KGB General Geidar Aliyev. One year ago Aliyev's regime banned hijab in public schools and dozens of Islamic scholars are imprisoned today for defending hijab along with over a hundred Islamic activists. Here are some very informative analysis I recommend all Muslims to read to know what is the situation like in Azerbaijan. I found very good analysis from the Islamic newsmagazine called Crescent International that is well known in Muslim activist circles which is led by our Sunnni brothers. “Great game” on the Azerbaijan chessboard http://www.crescent-online.net/2009/11/great-game-on-the-azerbaijan-chessboard-maksud-djavadov-2363-articles.html Islamic stirrings in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan http://www.crescent-online.net/2010/10/islamic-stirrings-in-tajikistan-and-azerbaijan-maksud-djavadov-2751-articles.html Islamic Iran in the Azeri-Karabakh-Armenia triangle http://www.crescent-online.net/2010/11/islamic-iran-in-the-azeri-karabakh-armenia-triangle-maksud-djavadov-2804-articles.html