An Azerbaijani court on September 1 ordered the demolition of a community mosque, drawing protests from believers in a Baku district of Surahan. The mosque is the third such building to date in or near the Azerbaijani capital to face the wrecking ball.

Local officials argue that the controversy over the Fatima Al-Zahra mosque boils down to a land ownership dispute, but the Kavkazsky Uzel news portal reported that some Muslim faithful and other commentators were quick to see a governmental effort to contain the spread of Islam in Azerbaijan, which has a majority Shi’a Muslim population.

On May 10, the authorities demolished a mosque on the “Oil Rocks,” an offshore drilling settlement in the Caspian Sea built on stilts and rock. Baku’s Prophet Muhammad mosque was taken down in April; a court agreed with city officials’ argument that it was an “illegal” construction.