World Jewish News

The Muslim leader of the Caucasus helped to build a synagogue in Baku.

Allashukur Pashazade, the Muslim spiritual leader of the Caucasus, had donated a considerable amount of money to building of a new synagogue in Baku.
Berl Lazar, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, and Sheik ul-Islam Hasi Allashukur Pashazade, the Muslim spiritual leader of the Caucasus, were honorable guests at the synagogue's opening ceremony. The Jerusalem architecture building has two praying halls: one is for the Ashkenazi; the other is for the Georgian community. The three-storied synagogue is beautiful: in addition to the two praying halls, it has a Kosher canteen and several classrooms. The synagogue cost USD 280,000.00. It had been difficult to raise such money in a country where an average monthly wage is just over USD 50.00. The Jewish community had hoped that the synagogue would have been ready by Rosh-ha Shana; however, at the moment USD 100,000.00 had still been needed. That was when help came from an "unexpected source" - Allashukur Pashazade. "The Jewish community leader, Gennady Zelmanovic informed Sheik Pashazade that he would be very grateful for any contribution, even that of USD 100.00. Sheik Pashazade replied that he considered giving such a small amount an insult", says Eitan Naeh, the Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan. In addition to the money donated by Sheik Pashazade, the organizers of the project received donations from the businessman Lev Leviev, thus raising the amount needed.
Azerbaijan has a population of 8,000,000 people: 75% are Muslim Shiites, and remaining 25% are Muslim Sunnites, Orthodox Christians and Jews. About 45,000 Jews left Azerbaijan during the early 90s' immigration wave from the former Soviet Union. Twenty thousand Jews currently live in the country. There are several hundreds of Georgian Jews, about 4,000 are the Ashkenazi; the rest are the descendants of the Jews who had come to Azerbaijan 1500-1700 years ago. The Ashkenazi first came to Baku at the end of the 19th century, after the discovery of the oilfields. These oilfields later turned Baku into one of the most prospering city of the former USSR. The Jewish community was donated the plot for the synagogue by the Municipality of Baku at the beginning of the 20th century.
In November 2002, Allashukur Pashazade received an unusual guest, Amnon Cohen, a Knesset member, then the Head of the Knesset's State control committee. "We had a pleasant conversation in Tajik", said Cohen, "I immigrated to Israel from Samarqand at the age of 12. Sheik spent seven years in Bukhara, so we had things to talk about. Sheikh told me that he has good feelings towards Israel. I suggested that he meet Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, to establish harmony between our religions. Pasha-zade replied that the time for the meeting of the kind had not come yet. Evidently, he fears to wake the discontent of other Muslims".

Источник: Jewish.ru