Rafiq Tagi
Encyclopedia
Rafiq Tağı, born Rafig Nazir oglu Taghiyev (5 August 1950, Khoshchobanly
, Masally Rayon, Azerbaijan
— 23 November 2011, Baku
, Azerbaijan
) was an Azerbaijan
i journalist who worked for Sanat newspaper until police arrested him and Sanat editor Samir Sadagatoglu for "Europe and Us", an article that was deemed to be critical of Islam
and the Prophet Muhammad. He was considered to be inciting racial hatred.
from the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. Beginning in 1990, he worked at the Emergency Medical Services Hospital in Baku.
A journalist whose works have been published in both Azerbaijani and foreign media, Tağı over his career became particularly known as an author of six collected prose books and a number of controversial articles. His membership at the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan of which he had been a member for 16 years was revoked after he wrote a critical essay analysing social and political views of the renowned Soviet-era Azerbaijani poet Samad Vurghun. Another article entitled Europe and Us published in 2006 in the newspaper Sanat provoked protests in Iran
, as well as a fatwa
pronouncing the death penalty from Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani
. He was accused of promoting religious hatred and was sentenced to four years in jail by an Azerbaijani court for instigating religious hostility. Tağı and Sadagatoglu were both pardoned and released on 28 December 2007 having served 8 months.
Rafiq Tağı died on 23 November, 2011 of a knife injury received on 19 November in a car park near his home. In an interview held just one day prior to his death, Rafiq Tağı stated the attack could be an act of retaliation for the article Iran and the Inevitability of Globalization he had published on 10 November 2011 and in which he criticised Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "discrediting Islam."
Tağı's family voiced concerns that no one had been held liable for the murder within a week from the event and informed of their intention to sue the Ministry of Health and the chief physicial of the clinic where Tağı had died for negligence causing death. In addition, they announced their plans to seek political asylum in one of the Western countries.
On his website, ayatollah Mohammad Javad Lankarani, the son of the fatwa-issuing ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani who himself died in 2007, published a statement in which he praised the killers for "sending the reprobate who insulted the prophet to hell" and was assured that Muslim youths would not let "the intrigues of global imperialism and Zionism be carried on."
Xosçobanli, Masally
Xoşçobanlı is a village and municipality in the Masally Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,285....
, Masally Rayon, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
— 23 November 2011, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
) was an Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i journalist who worked for Sanat newspaper until police arrested him and Sanat editor Samir Sadagatoglu for "Europe and Us", an article that was deemed to be critical of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and the Prophet Muhammad. He was considered to be inciting racial hatred.
Biography
Tağı was born in the village of Khoshchobanly in southern Azerbaijan. He graduated from the Azerbaijan State Medical University and worked as a physician in rural parts of Azerbaijan. He later received a degree in cardiologyCardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
from the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. Beginning in 1990, he worked at the Emergency Medical Services Hospital in Baku.
A journalist whose works have been published in both Azerbaijani and foreign media, Tağı over his career became particularly known as an author of six collected prose books and a number of controversial articles. His membership at the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan of which he had been a member for 16 years was revoked after he wrote a critical essay analysing social and political views of the renowned Soviet-era Azerbaijani poet Samad Vurghun. Another article entitled Europe and Us published in 2006 in the newspaper Sanat provoked protests in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, as well as a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
pronouncing the death penalty from Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani
Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani was an Islamic Iranian cleric. He was student of Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi. He was an ethnic Azeri.-Biography and clerical activities:...
. He was accused of promoting religious hatred and was sentenced to four years in jail by an Azerbaijani court for instigating religious hostility. Tağı and Sadagatoglu were both pardoned and released on 28 December 2007 having served 8 months.
Rafiq Tağı died on 23 November, 2011 of a knife injury received on 19 November in a car park near his home. In an interview held just one day prior to his death, Rafiq Tağı stated the attack could be an act of retaliation for the article Iran and the Inevitability of Globalization he had published on 10 November 2011 and in which he criticised Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "discrediting Islam."
Tağı's family voiced concerns that no one had been held liable for the murder within a week from the event and informed of their intention to sue the Ministry of Health and the chief physicial of the clinic where Tağı had died for negligence causing death. In addition, they announced their plans to seek political asylum in one of the Western countries.
Reaction in Iran
The Iranian embassy in Baku denied all allegations that Iran was somehow linked to the assasination and called them "ungrounded."On his website, ayatollah Mohammad Javad Lankarani, the son of the fatwa-issuing ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani who himself died in 2007, published a statement in which he praised the killers for "sending the reprobate who insulted the prophet to hell" and was assured that Muslim youths would not let "the intrigues of global imperialism and Zionism be carried on."
See also
- IslamismIslamismIslamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...