The dismissal of Oktay Saral
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan removed advisor Oktay Saral after Saral criticized Azerbaijan’s new regulations that effectively ban religious attire, such as hijabs, in state schools. This dismissal follows pressure from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to rein in Turkish critics of Azerbaijani policies. Cumhuriyet reported on October 25 that Saral resigned at the instruction of the Turkish president. Saral told journalist Talat Atilla on X that he had "no hard feelings towards anyone" and that he left at the president’s direction. Saral previously described the hijab restrictions as "unacceptable" and argued that Azerbaijan should correct this mistake to avoid creating obstacles for the future of young people. Azerbaijani journalist Aziz Alibayli stated that Saral’s departure should serve as a lesson, adding that school rules are determined in Baku, not by an adviser in Trabzon. Saral confirmed in a social media post that his initial comments about the hijab controversy were responsible for his forced departure.
Diplomatic movement in Baku and Ankara
The removal of Saral clearly clears a path for Ankara and Baku to move past recent acrimony. Following the dismissal, Azerbaijani ruling-party figures and officials have increased their contact with Turkish nationalist politicians, with several pro-government voices presenting the departure of Saral as a political victory for President Ilham Aliyev. This follows a period where Aliyev exerted pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov following the accidental shootdown of an Azerbaijani civilian airliner in late 2024. Aliyev exerted pressure on Putin for months until the Kremlin leader finally acknowledged responsibility for the tragedy last fall. On October 23, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Turkey, Rashad Aslanov, met with the leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, in Ankara. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) also met with representatives of Turkey’s Victory Party at YAP’s central headquarters in Baku on Saturday. Tahir Budagov, the deputy chair of YAP, called the criticism against Azerbaijan "biased campaigns" and a "serious historical mistake" during the meeting. This meeting addressed misunderstandings and prospects for future cooperation between YAP and the Victory Party. Turkish MP Cemal Enginyurt, a former member of both the MHP and the Republican People’s Party, expressed support for President Aliyev by sharing an image of Aliyev alongside Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Iranian response to hijab restrictions
Iranian Science Minister Hossein Simaei-Sarraf invited Azerbaijani girls facing hijab restrictions to study at Iranian universities in a video released on October 22. He stated that Iran could host "believing daughters of the Prophet Muhammad" who face being forced to abandon their Sharia-compliant hijab to exercise their right to education. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Science and Education issued a statement on Monday describing the invitation as "entirely inappropriate" and an attempt to interfere in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs. The ministry urged Iranian officials to focus on their own country’s problems rather than interfering in the domestic affairs of others. The ministry also noted that approximately 40 million ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran and have been deprived of the right to education in their mother tongue for decades. On Monday, a group of 55 Azerbaijani NGOs sent an open letter to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to demand systematic teaching of the Azerbaijani language in schools. The NGOs called for the establishment of secondary schools and higher education institutions that offer instruction in Azerbaijani, the training of teachers, and the development of textbooks and curricula to fulfill the right to mother-tongue education. The ministry also criticized Iran’s education policies, claiming the country has no schools providing instruction in Azerbaijani and that Azerbaijani is not used as a language of instruction at higher education institutions. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei called for the hijab issue in Azerbaijan to be resolved through mutual understanding and respect for religious rights. He added that Azerbaijanis were capable of making their voices heard by their government to protect their religious beliefs.
