Oppositional Islam in Azerbaijan

Religion, Politics and Nation-Building in Post-Communist Countries , 2015

2004

Central Asian Affairs, 2018

By the time Azerbaijan became independent in 1991, it had spent seven decades subsumed into the militant atheism of the Soviet modernization project. Moreover, it emerged into the staunchly secular international context of Western modernity. These two factors combined with the tough reality of the country’s precarious geography to promise a sustained indigenous effort to desacralize the country’s political space and exclude religion from politics, a blueprint common to the modern world and one which Azerbaijani state and society have united to pursue over the course of the country’s independent existence. Yet the specific dynamics facing the country in the third decade of independence and the changing contours of its international engagements have been working to loosen up the latter formula, laying the groundwork for a quintessentially Azerbaijani pathway of statehood that will combine the nation’s historical embeddedness in an Islamic milieu with its century-old practical experience of modern policymaking.

2009

The dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991 and the appearance of new independent states in its place resulted in dramatic changes in geopolitics. Because of its strategic importance, Azerbaijan emerged as one of the new spheres of the world community's interests. Moreover, the historical legacy of Azerbaijan as a part of the Great Silk Road as well as a meeting point of western and eastern cultures makes it a very attractive object of research. Finally, the essentially moderate Islamic framework in Azerbaijan and its unique character as the only country throughout the post-Soviet space in which a major part of the population belong to Shi'a Islam distinguish it from other Muslim republics of the former USSR. The main focus of investigation of this book is the way in which interaction between Islam, state and society took place in Azerbaijan in the unique historical-cultural and socio-political contexts.

Europe-Asia Studies, 2021

The article contributes to a better understanding of ‘Traditional Islam’ (TI), a state-led project in Azerbaijan to establish an alternative narrative promoting a specific local understanding of Islam that builds on its non-political, non-sectarian and national features to prevent ‘non-traditional’ religious variants from gaining popular traction. The phenomenon has not appeared in a vacuum. First, its features and functions stem from Soviet-era anti-religious and nationalities policies. Second, many aspects of TI resemble counter-radicalisation initiatives worldwide. Finally, while introduced as a means of blocking radicalisation in order to protect Azerbaijan’s national identity as a secular state, Traditional Islam in fact works to extend state control over the religious domain and thus to prevent the development of any religiously grounded dissent against the authoritarian regime.

Europe-Asia Studies, 2017

The article examines a series of political changes that recently affected the levels of religiosity in Azerbaijan. Since 2009 the Azerbaijani leadership has adopted a set of laws and policy regulations designed to restrain Islamism and Islamic activism. In spite of heavy-handed state control and legal restrictions, there has been a visible increase of religiosity within Azerbaijani society, particularly amongst religious organisations and parties. The article aims to decode the underlying reasons behind the persistent upsurge of religiosity in Azerbaijan and further our understanding of the social–political implications of this trend. The article also argues that, since restrictions were imposed on religious expression in 2009, the revival of Islam in Azerbaijan has become much more visible while serving as an alternative avenue for the emergence of social movements within the country.

Middle East, 2005

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the demise of Communist ideas paved the way for an Islamic revival in Azerbaijan. Being one of the most secular Muslim republics of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan is facing a dilemma concerning how to address contemporary religious issues. A suppression of religious activities and organizations could lead to internal opposition and radicalization. In contrast, freedom of religious activities could allow the neighboring state of Iran to export an Islamist revolution and encourage the development of a radical brand of local Islamism. The high percentage of poor people, as well as the presence of over 700,000 refugees in the country, create a dangerous breeding ground for radical organizations to recruit members and sympathizers for future struggles.

International Counter-Terrorism Review (ICTR), 2021

Considerable scholarly work on the post-Soviet region has focused on the various regional conflicts and security challenges, but rarely on the roots of the growing Islamism factor as a new source of threat. Following the demise of the Soviet Union, with its forcibly imposed atheist agenda, the majority of Muslim countries in Central Asia and the North Caucasus witnessed growing Islamic sentiments that led to a long-term, violent Islamic insurgency in the North Caucasus and, to some extent, in Central Asia. However, unlike other Muslim countries in the post-Soviet space, Islam plays a minimal role in Azerbaijan. The country has maintained its unique secular model mainly due to the firm “secular nationalism” ideas put forward by local intellectuals since the 19th century. Nevertheless, it is necessary to understand the historical evolution process of Islamic thought in Azerbaijan, underline the role of certain external actors in promoting radical Islamic ideology, and understand how they pose an existential threat to national security and identity.

2021

My coursework written for "Islam beyond Orientalism" course of the MA in Ethnology at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.

22-3, 2018

National consciousness emerged among the intelligentsia in Azerbaijan, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the XXth century. However, along with Soviet period this process was interrupted and could not spread among the community completely and therefore the “Muslim Identity” continued to survive like a fundamental identity connection for the Azeri society. Along with purge of the intelligentsia and abolition of nationalist symbols and the slogans that they used, Turkish nationalism disappeared as an ideology in Azerbaijan. Politico-ideological nationalism and its slogans were deprived of the chance of keeping the national consciousness alive. In this paper, I will argue that the main factor which sustained national consciousness in Soviet Azerbaijan was Islam and Muslim identity. Despite the fact that the communist regime succeeded in minimizing Islamic intellectual and ideological dimensions, it could not erode its elements that had become a cultural norm and life-style. To be a Muslim in Soviet Azerbaijan was perceived as to be a member of Azeri society and as a devotion to life-style of this society. As a matter of fact, the life-style to which the definition of “Muslim” refers to, was a main factor whereby Azeri society could distinguish itself from the surrounding – Russian, Armenian and Georgian – societies. In this sense, Islam, which refers to common lifestyle and cultural norms, had kept the national consciousness alive by firming the sameness sense of society in Soviet Azerbaijan. Summary This study focuses on the role of Islamic identity and Islamic lifestyle in maintaining national consciousness during the Soviet era. The main claim of the study is that Muslim identity and Islamic life style are effective in maintaining national consciousness. In order to prove the accuracy of this claim, analyses of political, social, demographic and cultural issues in a certain historical period are carried out. In this context, the occupation of Russia, the process of nationalization since the second quarter of the XIXthcentury and the subsequent Sovietization process are discussed in the context of Muslim identity and Islamic lifestyle. This period was discussed and commented on in the light of statistical sources, intelligence reports, propaganda books and academic research on the period. When the present Azerbaijan region, which was under the influence of Iran politically and culturally until the XIXthcentury, was occupied by the Russian Empire, the people of the region came under the rule of the Christian rulers for the first time. The Muslim people in Azerbaijan found themselves surrounded by Christian communities for the first time after the Tsarist administration made Armenian and Russian populations migrate to the region to empower its existence. The Azerbaijani society, which was always a part of the Muslim society, had to redefine its own identity in the midst of Christian communities including Russians, Armenians and Georgians. The Tsar administration’s providing a number of privileges both legally and in practice to the Armenians and the Russians, who were brought to Azerbaijan, caused the Azerbaijani Turks to feel themselves under social, cultural, economic and political pressure of Christians. It has been observed that this pressure and favoritism were more intensely felt in the conflicts that broke out between Azerbaijani Turks and Armenians in the years of 1905 and 1918. All these experiences have allowed Azerbaijani Turks to embrace their identity, namely their Muslim identity, towards non-Muslim communities around them. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the intelligentsia and the bourgeoisie, who not only put efforts to promote the national consciousness of the people to ensure social development but also embraced the Muslim identity, had formed. This process resulted in the establishment of the Republic in Azerbaijan in 1918 with the flag that brought together blue, red and green colors symbolizing the turkization, modernization and Islamization. However, the republic was able to survive for only 23 months, and in 1920, after the Soviet invasion, the nationalist ideology, its ideologists and symbols were completely liquidated and Soviet policies were intensively implemented. Even though nationalism had disappeared in the ideological level during the Soviet era, a number of equipment common to nation-state, which provided homogenization of the people, was provided. A national state apparatus, national borders, national history, and national education system were created, even if they were in the Soviet version. As a result, a nation was formed that shared the same language, the same history consciousness and the same boundaries but lacked a national ideology. A cultural nationalism based on culture and lifestyle developed in Soviet Azerbaijan, where ideological nationalism was a perilous venture. Cultural nationalism has evolved in Soviet Azerbaijan as an attitude defending the people's language, history, and especially the way of life. All of these, namely, cultural characteristics and lifestyle, were the main characteristics of the Azerbaijani society, distinguishing itself from environmental societies- from Russians, Armenians and Georgians. In this sense, to be nationalist and patriotic in the Soviet Azerbaijan meant to embrace the culture and lifestyle of Azerbaijani society. Therefore, cultural nationalism played an important role in maintaining the ethnic borders with the surrounding peoples and keeping the national consciousness alive. The point that should be emphasized in terms of our research subject is that a significant part of life style and culture in Azerbaijani society is closely related to Islam and Islamic traditions. Although Sovietization policies were largely successful in eliminating the intellectual and ideological dimension of Islam, its cultural norms and elements, which became lifestyles, continued their existence strongly. The failure of the Soviet regime was that they could not offer an alternative culture and lifestyle to the Muslim societies they ruled. Even though, in the Soviet era, the concrete symbols of Islam such as mosques and headscarves etc. were destroyed, the elements that appeared in interpersonal relations, social structure and family relations continued to exist. All these were important cultural elements of the Azerbaijani society to distinguish itself from the ethnic identities surrounding it, from the Russians, Armenians and Georgians, and to maintain its national identity. Life cycle rituals such as kebin(Islamic marriage), circumcision, funeral and mourning ceremonies were perceived as very important indicators of being an Azeri. In many of the research carried out by the Soviet atheist ideologues and intelligence reports, it was stated that the people, including the communist party executives, continued their life-cycle rituals as they were national customs. Even the atheists were performing these rituals with the concern that they would be accused of opposing national customs and would be excluded from the society if they did not comply with the life-cycle rituals. Just because kebinwas only allowed for Muslim couples and marriages without religious ceremony were not welcomed in the society, the rates of marriage with the Russians, Armenians and Georgians were very low. Circumcision of a male child was perceived as making him a member of the Azeri community and as a means of providing a feature that distinguished him from the members of other societies. The burial of a deceased person according to Islamic methods was a sign that the funeral belonged to an Azeri, not to a Russian, Armenian or Georgian. Hence, setting boundaries with the surrounding ethnic groups, the life-cycle rituals from the Islamic culture also kept national and ethnic consciousness alive. Thus, the Islamic culture and lifestyle became one of the most important antidote of the Soviet Regime’s Homo Sovieticusproject, which aimed to create a new type of human and society beyond the national and ethnic identities.