PanARMENIAN.Net - The website Monumentwatch.org , which monitors the cultural heritage of Artsakh, has reported that Baku is making concerted efforts to reinterpret Islamic heritage in Armenia as Turkic-Azerbaijani. A recent example is the international conference "Cultural Heritage and the Right of Return" held in Baku on December 5, where Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev delivered a speech supporting this narrative.
The core message of Aliyev's address was that Armenia allegedly destroyed both tangible and intangible cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis, particularly shrines and cemeteries, over many years. He emphasized the importance of obtaining international legal recognition of these claims and initiating restoration measures aligned with the ideology of "Azerbaijani return and Western Azerbaijan."
Monumentwatch traces the roots of this narrative to the Soviet era, with early examples appearing in the work of historian Ziya Bunyatov and orientalist Meshadi-Khanum Neymatova. Their focus was especially on the Syunik region. Neymatova published inscriptions from Muslim tombstones in villages such as Vorotan, Vaghatin, and Aghitu (Sisian district), deliberately misinterpreting them. Armenian orientalist A. Khachatryan later conducted an in-depth linguistic and grammatical analysis of the same inscriptions, correcting her distortions.
Azerbaijan's official version of history claims that Armenian authorities destroyed Azerbaijani shrines, graves, and monuments, or concealed their existence. However, this is contradicted by a document titled "List of Islamic, including Azerbaijani or Azerbaijani-used historical and cultural monuments on the territory of the Republic of Armenia." This list provides regional breakdowns, photos, brief descriptions, and current preservation status of these monuments.
It clearly identifies both Tatar and Azerbaijani cemeteries, along with village mosques built in former Tatar-populated areas. The document also highlights that despite Azerbaijani allegations, sacred sites such as Bughakar Pir near Lehvaz and Baba Haj shrine near Shvanidzor in Syunik province are still preserved. These have been venerated since the 19th century by Muslim communities, including Kurds, Persians, and Turkic speakers, and during Soviet times, by Azerbaijanis.
Moreover, in villages formerly inhabited by Azerbaijanis or with mixed populations, there are still monuments and memorial springs dedicated to those who died in World War II, bearing Azerbaijani names.
As for the cemeteries, most are reported to be in reasonably good condition.
The report emphasizes that Azerbaijani accusations lack serious evidence and rely on historical distortion. It further notes that Armenian academic circles have consistently studied Islamic cultural heritage in Armenia and its interactions with Armenian culture since the 7th century, when Armenia became part of the Arab Caliphate. These interrelations are examined in the context of Seljuk, Mongol, Kara Koyunlu, and Ak Koyunlu periods.
Source: PanArmenian.Net
