Monkey Say, Monkey Do
By Jirair Tutunjian
A few years ago, after filching pages from the Turkish and Israeli PR manuals on how to be noticed in the international arena, the Alievistan dictator
In the same hollow promotional spirit, last month Baku saw the opening of a Latter-day Saints (Mormon) meetinghouse. This was the second coming of the Utah crowd: five years ago they pulled out of Azerbaijan perhaps because of the pitiful number (37) of their congregation: nine Americans, a Briton, a Taiwanese, a Russian, and two Scots. So, three years after throwing in the towel the Mormons returned to extoll Baby Aliyev’s tolerance, internationalism, and the welcoming of Christians,unless the Christians happened to be Armenian.
At last count, there were 148,000 Christians in Azerbaijan. The overwhelming majority are members of the Russian Orthodox Church plus a handful of Georgians. Before the pogroms of Armenians in Azerbaijan proper (not counting the Artsakh population), there were 248,000 Christians in Azerbaijan.
The fact that there are almost no Mormons in Azerbaijan hasn’t phased the Utah-based congregation. Unlike the saints of Eastern and Western Churches, the Latter-day Saints are obscenely rich. Their net worth is almost $300 billion. In addition to the various businesses they own (shopping malls, real estate, broadcasting, publishing, farms), they are shareholders of Amazon, Apple, Exxon Mobil, Google, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, and healthcare products manufacturing companies.
On the occasion of LDS’ (Latter Day Saints) return to the gassy dictatorship a formal reception was held at a Baku villa which will act as meeting place for the local Mormons. The proceedings were headed by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He said: “This is a historic day in Azerbaijan for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.”
Badnar said: “We are honored and delighted to be here—and be able to dedicate this facility where we will meet and worship. We are grateful and exited to be in Azerbaijan.”
Ramin Mammadov, the most senior of Azeri government officer in attendance, said: “The opening of this building is witness to everyone that the Azerbaijani society is further expanding its cultural richness and openness to different religions.”
Elder Jack E. Gerard, first counsellor in the Church’s Central Asia presidium, said: “We love our Azeri brothers and sisters and look forward to continued growth across this region of the world.”
It’s stunning to see a group which professes to be devoutly Christian, has more than 18 million followers around the world, and spends millions of dollars every year to recruit new members, is willing to shill a genocidal regime whose agents continue to destroy Armenian churches, desecrate the crucifix and cemeteries, illegally hold Armenian prisoners of war, occupies 240 sq. kms. of Armenian territory and threatens to overrun Armenia and presumably banish Christianity from the land which was the first to acknowledge Christianity as its national religion.
The representatives of the Mormon Church shamefully hail a dictatorship which specializes in bribing European Union politicians, is attached to the notorious Laundromat scandal, blocks digital access to his people, and jails journalists. Fearing for their lives, many journalists have fled the country. A country with a rubber-stamp Parliament. According to an Internet report, nearly all Azeri media is controlled by the government. In a touch of sublime serendipity, Mrs. Alieva, the consort of Aliyev, edits a major magazine when she’s not having a facelift.
But why hurry back to Azerbaijan after decamping a few years earlier and when the current Azeri Mormon congregation can comfor
But then again, why be surprised by the Mormon willingness to return to a genocidal dictatorship. After all, it’s same religion which once practiced polygamy and whose founder claimed the Garden of Eden was in Missouri.
