Islamic Resistance Movement of Azerbaijan

Islamic Resistance Movement of Azerbaijan
Azərbaycan İslam Müqavimət Hərəkatı
Founder	Tawhid Ibrahim Begli
Leader	Tawhid Ibrahim Begli
Dates of operation	2015–present
Allegiance	Iran IRGC Quds Force
Headquarters	Qom and Mashhad[1][2][3]
Active regions	Template:Country data Ba'athist Syria (Until 2024)
Ideology	Shia Islamism Khomeinism Anti-Zionism Anti-Western sentiment
Political position	Syncretic
Status	Active
Part of	Axis of Resistance Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Allies	State allies  Iran[4] Template:Country data Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria (until 2024)  Russia (sometimes)[note 1] Non-State allies PMU Template:Country data Hezbollah
Opponents	State opponents  Russia (sometimes)[5][6][note 2]  Turkey  Israel  Saudi Arabia Template:Country data Syrian Opposition Syria Non-State opponents GAMOH AMDT JAMAH Islamic State Iraq and the Levant Province Caucasus Province Azerbaijan Province
Battles and wars	Syrian civil war
Colours	Yellow and Green

The Islamic Resistance Movement of Azerbaijan,^{[lower-alpha 1]} also known as Hussainiyoun,^{[lower-alpha 2]} is an Shia Islamist Azerbaijani militant organization that is based in Iran.

Tawhid Ibrahim Begli is known as the founder of this movement. He is a staunch critic of the regime of Ilham Aliyev and stated that the aim of the movement is "to create a discourse, to create a deterrent power among the Shia Muslims of Azerbaijan and to strengthen and empower them based on the model of resistance".^[7][8][9]

In late 2015 and early 2016, Tawhid Ibrahim Begli instructed 14 students from the Azerbaijan who were studying religion in Qom and Mashhad to establish a "Husseiniyun Brigade" consisting of students. Ibrahim Begli first gathered the 14 students at the workplace of Iskander Husseinov in Qom, and after a day of waiting and training, transferred them to a military unit near the capital of Syria, Damascus.^[10][11][12]

Some members of the movement had volunteered at their own choice to participate in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War and the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in favour of Azerbaijan.^[13]

The movement was named by Qasem Soleimani.^[14]

According to some media outlets in the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ibrahim Begli immediately stated in Damascus that their intention was not only to fight ISIS, but also to prepare for an uprising in Azerbaijan.^[10][11][12]

However, the movement has stated that its sole purpose is to confront extremists and has no plans to expand its activities in Azerbaijan. According to Tawhid Ibrahim Begli, he did not support Azerbaijan and did not directly order the deployment fighters to Nagorno-Karabakh because of Israel’s support for Azerbaijan.^[13] Some members of the group volunteered themselves to fight for Azerbaijan in the conflict, despite no specific orders on them to do so.^[13]

Tawhid Ibrahim Begli's father, Alam Ibrahimli, and his mother, Soodabeh Ibrahimli, originally from Lankaran, later settled in Mashhad.^[15]

In 2013, Tawhid Ibrahim Begli met with Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, during a meeting called "Ulema of the Ummah and the Islamic Awakening" as the chairman of the "Assembly of Fighting Clerics of the Republic of Azerbaijan". During the meeting, he spoke about the situation of Muslim prisoners in the Republic of Azerbaijan.^[16][17]

In 2017, Tawhid Ibrahim Begli attended the "Memorial of the Martyrs of Nardaran" in Zanjan and spoke about the incident of an attack by the special police forces of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2015 on the Shiites of Nardaran, which killed four residents.^[16][17]

The movement visited the tomb of Qasem Soleimani in Kerman in 2020.^[18]

In a message, the Islamic Resistance Movement of Azerbaijan congratulated Ebrahim Raisi on his victory in the 2021 Iranian presidential election.^[19]

Hussainiyoun’s leader is currently reported to be residing in Iran.^[20]

The members of this group who were fighting in Syria were mostly imprisoned or faced severe treatment by the government of Azerbaijan after returning.^[21]

Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies released information that Tawhid Ibrahim Begli, leader of the organization, who regularly made threats against Azerbaijan, called for the assassination of Elmar Valiyev, the then mayor of Ganja, in January 2017 through the extremist website "nur-az.com". A year later, Yunis Safarov attempted to assassinate Elmar Valiyev.^[22]

Tawhid Ibrahim Begli has been accused of continuous and radical efforts against the government of Azerbaijan and was previously detained by the police during a protest rally in front of the Israeli embassy in Baku and was detained for 7 days by a court decision.^[23]

In 2020, the residence of Faleq Valiyev, a member of the movement, was identified in Russia, and he was arrested as part of an international search and was extradited to Azerbaijan on August 27. He was charged with "being a member of a criminal group (organization)", "training outside the Republic of Azerbaijan for terrorist purposes" and "participating in the activities of armed groups outside the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan". He was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Ganja Crimes Court.^[5][6]

"Elmir Zahedov", a high-ranking member of the organization who was present in Syria, was imprisoned in Shaki prison in 2021.^[24]

Like the IRGC, its branches and proxies, Hezbollah, Harakat Al-Sabireen, Liwa Zainebiyoun, Liwa Fatemiyoun, and many other Shia militias allied to Iran, the flag of this group features a hand holding a rifle.

Reports indicated little to no resistance or support from Hussainiyoun in any engagements in Syria leading up to the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives and the Fall of the Assad regime.^[25]

Template:Syrian Civil War Template:Militant Islamism Template:Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

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