On December 5, 2025, the international conference “Cultural Heritage and the Right of Return” was held in Baku, and Ilham Aliyev delivered a message addressed to the participants.

The central claim of the message was that, allegedly, over many years, Armenia has systematically destroyed the material and intangible cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis, especially shrines and cemeteries. It was emphasized that, for the Azerbaijani side, it is imperative to obtain legal assessments of these events in the international legal arena and to take the corresponding steps. These are to be followed by measures aimed at the “restoration” of that heritage, framed within the “Azerbaijani return” discourse and the ideology of “Western Azerbaijan.” (https://t.me/Caucasian_bureau/111702, https://t.me/Caucasian_bureau/111703)

The Azerbaijani side has been investing considerable efforts in appropriating the Islamic cultural heritage located within the territory of the Republic of Armenia and presenting it as Turkic–Azerbaijani.

The first steps in this direction were taken during the Soviet period by the historian Ziya Bunyadov and the orientalist Meshadi-khanum Neymatova, with the primary focus on Syunik. Neymatova published the inscriptions of Muslim tombstones from the villages of Vorotan, Vaghatin, and Aghitu in the Sisian district of Syunik Province, introducing intentionally erroneous readings—a fact documented by the prominent orientalist A. Khachaturyan, who, in his extensive monograph on Arabic inscriptions in Armenia, examined each epitaph in detail from content-based, grammatical, and linguistic perspectives.

Official Azerbaijan’s principal accusation is that the Armenian side has destroyed “Azerbaijani shrines, cemeteries, and monuments,” and has also concealed their existence. In that case, the following document raises serious questions: it is entitled “List of Muslim historical and cultural monuments located in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, including Azerbaijani monuments or monuments used by the latter.” The list presents, province by province, Muslim monuments in Armenia, including photographs, brief information, and descriptions of their condition. It should be noted that Tatar and Azerbaijani cemeteries are listed separately. The buildings of rural mosques constructed in the territories of former Tatar villages are not concealed either. Since the Azerbaijani side emphasizes the claim that the Armenian side allegedly destroys shrines, it should also be noted that in Syunik Province, two pilgrimage sites remain intact: the Bughaqar Pir sanctuary, not far from the village of Lehvaz, and the Baba Haj shrine, not far from the town of Shvanidzor. From the 19th century onward, these functioned as sacred sites for Muslim populations—including Kurdish, Persian, and Turkic-speaking communities—and during the Soviet period, for Azerbaijanis. In numerous villages that were formerly predominantly Azerbaijani-populated or had mixed populations, memorials of the Great Patriotic War and springs have also been preserved, bearing inscriptions with the names of Azerbaijanis who died in the war.

As for the preservation of cemeteries, a considerable portion is in satisfactory or good condition. Naturally, there are also damaged cemeteries and tombstones; this has not been concealed and has been documented as well in official lists and records.

In its accusations, the Azerbaijani side provides no serious substantiation or evidence; the claims that do exist amount to distortions of historical facts. This is clearly demonstrated when one verifies the “Azerbaijani accusations” concerning Yerevan’s Muslim heritage (for details see: https://monumentwatch.org/hy/alerts/%d5%a5%d6%80%d6%87%d5%a1%d5%b6%d5%ab-%d5%b4%d5%a6%d5%af%d5%ab%d5%a9%d5%b6%d5%a5%d6%80%d5%ab-%d5%b4%d5%a1%d5%bd%d5%ab%d5%b6-%d5%a1%d5%a4%d6%80%d5%a2%d5%a5%d5%bb%d5%a1%d5%b6%d5%a1%d5%af%d5%a1%d5%b6/).

We consider it essential to emphasize that Armenian academic scholarship has repeatedly addressed Islamic cultural heritage in Armenia and the interrelations between Armenian and Islamic cultures, beginning in the 7th century, when Armenia became part of the Arab Caliphate. Armenian–Islamic cultural interactions have been examined in the context of Seljuk art and within broader frameworks of contacts with Mongol and post-Mongol polities, including the Kara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu confederations.