Azerbaijan's ruling party on Tuesday directly accused Turkey of creating "artificial tension" between the two countries.
This controversy started over the hijab ban implemented this week in primary and high schools in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan on Tuesday defended its decision to impose rules related to school uniforms. These rules have led to protests regarding restrictions on Islamic hijab.
Azerbaijan also asked its close ally Turkey to stay away from its internal affairs.
The Constitution of Azerbaijan keeps religion separate from the state and religious freedom is guaranteed. Azerbaijan, which has a predominantly Muslim population, separated from the Soviet Union and is a secular country. This dispute has increased the tension in relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
The controversy also highlights the challenges Azerbaijan faces in implementing secularism.
The government last month implemented rules that ban school students from wearing clothes that differ from the official school uniform or that do not conform to the secular nature of the state's education system.
According to news agency Reuters, hijab is not clearly mentioned in these rules. However, protests broke out in some places this week after reports that some female students and teachers wearing Islamic hijab were being denied entry into schools.
Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry said on Monday that 37 people had been detained on charges of disrupting public order by protesting against the implementation of these rules.
The New Azerbaijan Party, led by President Ilham Aliyev, targeted Turkish presidential chief adviser Oktay Saral and other officials of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). These officials had opposed the ban on hijab through social media posts.
Oktay wrote on October 13 on
How can it be in accordance with the spirit of justice to stop a girl student from covering her head because of her faith at the school gate itself? Hijab is not a hindrance, but a requirement of faith. The right to education cannot be sacrificed to impose any ideas!
We hope that Azerbaijan will correct this mistake as soon as possible. Instead of hindering the future of the youth, avenues for progress should be opened for them. In today's times, such mentality should not be tolerated under any circumstances!
The ruling New Azerbaijan Party said that Turkish media outlets close to the AKP government are publishing news about Azerbaijan that are contrary to the facts. He warned that this could affect the relations between the two countries.
Fatma Sahin, mayor of Gazan Tepe city of Turkey and former minister of Erdogan government, has posted a video on X, in which girls can be seen crying near school in Azerbaijan.
Posting this video, Fatma has written on X, "We have seen the era of ban on hijab in Türkiye. What result did we get by keeping women out of education, working life and various spheres of public life?
“How did this open the way for Türkiye's development, how did our country become stronger? Which problem related to our security was solved, how did our future become more secure and better? Nothing.
Fatma has written, "On the contrary, it has pitted our society against each other and created distance between our people." It left our girls' dreams unfulfilled and left wounds in the hearts of our families. This led to large-scale violation of rights and created such mental trauma, the pain of which could not go away for 20-30 years. We all together paid the price for this and even today we are carrying its scars.
“Today we do not want people in Azerbaijan to have to go through the same pain. Our heart cannot accept this. We are not saying this to hurt you or to interfere in your internal affairs, but as a nation that has gone through this experience ourselves, and as a brother.
“We believe that our beloved Azerbaijan will become stronger by taking all its children together, and not by pitting its own people against each other. By staying connected to his original identity, he will quickly retreat from this mistake.
New dress code rules for schools in Azerbaijan were implemented for students on 21 September and for teachers on 6 October.
Middle East news website Middle East Eye wrote in its report, "At least 37 people were arrested in Baku on Monday for protesting against the hijab ban. He was accused of violating public order. According to reports, the government also limited internet speed on the same day, affecting access to social media platforms like X, TikTok and Instagram.
Despite Aliyev's strong criticism of Türkiye last week, Ankara has refrained from officially commenting on the issue.
Aliyev's criticism came after Baku's assessment that comments targeting Azerbaijan on social media were part of a government-backed campaign.
Saral is known for expressing his personal opinions on various issues on social media. However, following his intervention, Azerbaijan's ruling party issued a detailed statement on several issues of contention in the bilateral relations between the two countries.
In addition to the hijab controversy, many Turkish users on X have criticized Azerbaijan's close ties with Israel.
Last month, there was a flood of negative comments against Baku after Azerbaijan's decision not to leave the UN General Assembly hall during Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's address.
The ruling party said Azerbaijan's relations with Israel are based on international law and mutual interests. He also reiterated his support for the Palestinian people and said that Baku has provided financial and humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
"The Palestine Embassy in Azerbaijan also continues to operate with the financial support of the Government of Azerbaijan," the statement said.
The party said Aliyev has repeatedly supported a two-state solution, under which East Jerusalem would be the capital of the Palestinian state.
What did Azerbaijan's ruling party say?
Responding to criticism of the hijab ban, the party said that no country in the Islamic world has the right to impose its will on other Muslim communities, interfere in their internal affairs or consider itself superior to them.
Taking an indirect aim at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the party said that any claim to work for the unity of the Muslim world should be proven through cooperation and mutual respect on the basis of equality, and not through supremacist tendencies.
Speaking directly on the hijab ban, the party said that Azerbaijan's constitution declares the country a secular state.
"We believe that using sensitive issues such as head coverings as a means of political manipulation and division serves neither the unity of the Turkish people nor the solidarity of the entire Muslim world," the statement said.
"Using such issues to exert political pressure on Azerbaijan is particularly unacceptable. We appeal to the AKP government to desist from this harmful policy," the statement said.
Türkiye was Azerbaijan's most prominent supporter during the second Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020. He had provided drones, weapons and ammunition to Baku. Apart from this, F-16 fighter planes and special forces were also deployed to help Azerbaijan win the war.
