The Ministry of Culture has issued a statement regarding the insult of the mosque in Zangilan by Armenians.
The statement said:
"The historical territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been occupied by the Armenian armed forces for almost 30 years - the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its environs - is being liberated from occupation by the victorious Azerbaijani army.
As a result of the bravery of the personnel of our Armed Forces, the centers of Jabrayil, Fizuli, Zangilan regions, as well as a number of settlements of these regions, as well as Khojavend and Tartar regions were liberated from occupation. Historical and cultural monuments located in our liberated territories have also been saved from the enemy.
At the same time, it should be noted with regret that during this years of occupation, as a result of the aggressive policy of Armenia, real historical and cultural monuments belonging to the Azerbaijani people were destroyed, appropriated and vandalized inappropriately.
The most destroyed examples of immovable cultural heritage by the Armenian armed forces were Islamic religious monuments - mosques, tombs and other places of worship. Armenians have demonstrated their hatred of Azerbaijanis by keeping pets inside mosques. Such barbaric treatment of cultural heritage in the occupied territories, including unique monuments of special importance, is a threat to world heritage.
Many of the monuments in the liberated areas are, as expected, in poor condition. The use of the state-registered historical mosque in Zangilan as a place to keep pigs is another clear example of Armenian vandalism, and this fact is strongly condemned not only by Azerbaijan, but also by international organizations and the progressive world community as a barbaric attitude to the world's cultural heritage. should cause. This reflects the attitude of the Republic of Armenia to other religions and its true face.
Keeping animals in the mosque, which is a place of worship for Muslims, along with the negative attitude of the Republic of Armenia to human values, is disrespectful to the religious values of our people and the Muslim world as a whole, and it should have a legal value at the international level. We call on the states and peoples of the civilized world to condemn such heinous acts of the Republic of Armenia against human values.
We emphasize that according to the "Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" adopted in The Hague in 1954, the occupying power must not allow the destruction, looting and misappropriation of cultural property, and must refrain from hostile actions against it. .