Day after day, a sad old man wandered up and down the streets of his town in Azerbaijan. At night he slept in a shelter for homeless refugees.
The old man used to live in the part of Azerbaijan called Nagorno-Karabakh. When fighting began in Nagorno-Karabakh, he was driven from his home. His wife died in the struggle. His children and grandchildren were scattered all over the country. So the man wandered the streets, sad and lonely.
Baklava is a treat enjoyed by children in many countries, including Iran. Try the recipe below. Can you share the treat with a Sunday school class or group and tell them about Christians in Iran? Read the post Iranian Date Snack to learn how to make another Iranian snack.
Persian Baklava
Syrup Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1½ cups water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Filling Ingredients
4 cups chopped almonds
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp. cardamom
Additional Ingredients
1 box phyllo dough (24 sheets)
1 stick melted butter
Instructions
Image credit: Kultigin/Wikipedia
Novruz, the “Persian New Year,” is celebrated in late March in Azerbaijan, Iran, and other locations. In Azerbaijan it is “the most important holiday,” said a Christian in Azerbaijan.
Katrina, a 10-year-old girl in Azerbaijan, described Novruz in the following way.
“During the last week before Novruz, kids go door to door (especially on Tuesday), putting their hats on the ground before each door, knocking, and then running to hide. The people who live inside the house open the door, take the hat, and put candy and small treats inside. They close the door, and the kids come rushing back to see what was inside the hat!
“During Novruz, people like to decorate boiled eggs to set on the table. A game that everyone likes to play during Novruz is ‘Yumurta Doyusmek’ or ‘Egg Fighting.’ During this game, two people each take a boiled egg and knock the ends together. Whichever egg did not crack wins the fight.
“Another thing people do for Novruz is grow a plateful of green grass (wheat grass) which they set in the center of a tray surrounded by candies and Novruz treats. My favorite Novruz treat is qogal [go-GHAL], a salty round bread that is very crumbly, and is sort of made in layers.” [See the photo. The round, yellow pastries are qogal.]
Azerbaijan
Most of the people in Azerbaijan are Muslims. But the government does not want radical Muslims to cause trouble. So, officials try to strictly control religious activity. In recent years, laws have made Christian activities and spreading the gospel more difficult.
In many places in the world, there are fewer people who follow Jesus than there are people who do not follow Jesus. A Christian in those places may be the only Christian in their family or town. There are in the minority. But they are not alone! They trust God to be with them when they boldly serve him.
The president of Azerbaijan is Ilham Aliyev. He will be 51 years old on December 24, 2012. Aliyev is the son of the previous president. He speaks five languages, and he has three children.
More than 90% of the people in Azerbaijan say they are Muslim. But many do not take their faith seriously. Fewer than 10% are Christian. Zoroastrianism was a main religion in Azerbaijan before the Muslims came. Today the people still honor some traditions from Zoroastrianism. (See the “Beliefs” section for more information.)
Even though many people in Azerbaijan are not serious about their Muslim faith, many do not like it when a Muslim becomes a Christian. They think Islam is part of their culture. Friends and relatives discourage Muslims from following Christ. It is often difficult for young adult Christians to find someone to marry who also follows Christ. Since marriage is an important part of their culture, they are often urged to marry a Muslim.
Officials sometimes give churches and Christians a hard time.
Listen to an MP3 of Christians in Azerbaijan singing a Christmas song in the Azeri language. Do you know the name of the song in English?
Pray for President Aliyev on his birthday and pray that he will have a positive attitude toward Christians in his country. Pray that Christians will be able to celebrate Christmas peacefully.
This week the U.S. Department of State released their 2011 International Religious Freedom Report. The report covers 199 countries and territories. Go to the report here and use the “Go to a Country Report” drop-down box to begin searching reports from specific countries. The reports tell what religions people in the country follow, what the laws of the country say about religious freedom, and whether or not there are abuses of religious freedom in that country.
See the “Countries” section on this site or the “Restricted Nations” section at Persecution.com for further information about selected countries.
