Azerbaijan’s top Muslim cleric has rejected claims that the country has banned the hijab in schools, as protests over school dress code restrictions have spread to Azerbaijani diplomatic missions in Turkey. Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, head of the Caucasus Muslims Board, said on Tuesday the school uniform rules do not explicitly mention the hijab and accused unnamed forces of using religion to turn people against the state. The dispute has also sparked demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul, where protesters have criticised Azerbaijan’s school dress code rules and its relations with Israel. Pashazadeh also claimed that protests against school dress code restrictions are being deliberately organised. Speaking to local media, Pashazadeh said that some people were using religion and spirituality to turn citizens against the state. ‘Who is inciting them to say these things? We know. The Azerbaijani people know, too. There are people who use their religion and spirituality to turn them against the state. I trust my state. If there is a problem […] This is not a problem. I do not even see it as a problem. It will be resolved’, Pashazadeh said. According to Pashazadeh, the decision introducing a uniform school dress code does not mention the hijab, and he claimed that presenting the issue as a hijab ban was a deliberate attempt to make it more contentious. ‘They call it a hijab issue. But the decision that was adopted does not mention the hijab; it refers to a uniform school dress code. They call it a hijab issue to make it more effective and influence Muslims’, he said. Pashazadeh also claimed that the protests had moved beyond religious concerns and had become a political campaign directed against the state. ‘We, as religious people, stand with our state today. All religious people should support our state and statehood. This state has been entrusted to us by the martyrs and the mothers of martyrs’, he added. The cleric further alleged that some families of soldiers killed in service had been drawn into the protests. He said he believed the issue would be resolved through the Ministry of Science and Education. Protests outside Azerbaijani diplomatic missions in Turkey The dispute has also prompted protests in Turkey. In Ankara, members of the Köklü Değişim movement gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy to protest restrictions related to wearing the hijab in schools. A large number of police officers were deployed to the area. The protesters criticised the school dress code rules, while the demonstrations have also featured accusations concerning Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel. A similar protest was held outside Azerbaijan’s Consulate General in Istanbul on 3 October. At the time, demonstrators also voiced criticism of Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel, and attempted to connect the two issues. Turkey has a contentious relationship with Israel, and Turkish society and officials across the political spectrum have long had issues with Azerbaijan’s close ties with the country.