Islam in Azerbaijan
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Most Shia Muslims in the country follow the Ja'fari school of Shia Islam, while Sunni Muslims typically adhere to either the Hanafi or Shafi'i school.[7] Due to many decades of Soviet atheist policy, religious affiliation in Azerbaijan is often nominal and Muslim identity tends to be based more on culture and ethnicity than on religion. Shia Islam is prevalent in the western, central, and southern regions of the country. Traditionally, villages around Baku and the Lankaran region are considered Shia strongholds. In contrast, Sunni Islam is dominant in the northern regions.[7]
History
Islam arrived in Azerbaijan with Arabs in the seventh century, gradually supplanting Christianity and pagan cults.[8]
In the sixteenth century, the first shah of the
As elsewhere in the Muslim world, the two branches of Islam came into conflict in Azerbaijan.[8] Enforcement of Shi'a Islam as the state religion brought contention between the Safavid rulers and the ruling Sunnis of the neighboring Ottoman Empire.[8]
In the nineteenth century, many Sunni Muslims emigrated from Russian-controlled Azerbaijan because of Russia's series of wars with their coreligionists in the Ottoman Empire.[8] Thus, by the late nineteenth century, the Shi'a population was in the majority in Russian Azerbaijan.[8] Antagonism between the Sunnis and the Shi'a diminished in the late nineteenth century as Azerbaijani nationalism began to emphasize a common Turkic heritage and opposition to Iranian religious influences.[8]
Russian Empire and Soviet Union
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In 1806, Azerbaijan became occupied by the
Before Soviet power was established, about 2,000 mosques were active in Azerbaijan.[8] Most mosques were closed in the 1930s, then some were allowed to reopen during World War II.[8] The Soviet rule promoted an Azerbaijani national consciousness as a substitute for identification with the world Islamic community and Iran.[10][11]
During World War II, Soviet authorities established the
During the
The lone center of conservative Shia Islam, was the town of
There is some evidence of Sufism in Azerbaijan.[12]
After the Soviet Union
Beginning in the late Gorbachev period, and especially after independence, the number of mosques rose dramatically. The growing number of religious Muslims resulted in the establishment of more than 2,000 mosques by 2014.
After independence, the laws regarding religion are quite clear. In Article 7 of the constitution, Azerbaijan is declared a secular state. This point is driven home in Article 19 with the statement of the separation of religion and state and the equality of all religions before the law as well as the secular character of the state educational system.
Religiosity levels
Azerbaijan has been a
A 1998 survey estimated the proportion of ardent believers in Azerbaijan at close to 7 percent, slightly more than the number of declared atheists — almost 4 percent — with the largest numbers falling into the category of those who consider Islam above all as a way of life, without strict observance of prohibitions and requirements, or as a fundamental part of national identity.[14] Another 1998 poll estimated the proportion of ardent believers in Azerbaijan at only 20 percent.[15]
In a 2010 survey only half of Azerbaijanis answering yes to the question, "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".[16]
Yet in 2017 Dobroslawa Wiktor-Mach noted an Islamic revival in the country: In 2010, the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC)'s "Caucasus Barometer" found out that for around 25% of the citizens religion was "very important" and for 43% "rather important" but just two years later, in 2012, as per the same organization those who considered it "very important" rose to 33% while those who chose "rather important" rose to 47% (16% selecting "less important", 2% not important and 1% not knowing.)[17]
Radical Islam
This section needs to be updated.(July 2021) |
There is a certain rise of
Azerbaijan can rightly claim to be among the most progressive and secular Islamic societies. Aside from having been the first Muslim country to have operas, theater plays, and a democratic republic, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim countries where support for secularism is the highest, and where radical ideologies have met only very limited interest.[13]
Svante Cornell believes that the radical groups remain weak, but have a potential to grow under the current domestic and international circumstances. To confront this, the Azerbaijani state needs to address the diarchy in terms of supervision of religious structures.[13] He writes, that the Government policies toward Islam in general and Islamic radicalism in particular have been inadequate.[13]
According to researchers
Citizens of Azerbaijan have joined terrorist organizations in Syria.[23][24]
In Nardaran, a deadly incident broke out between Azerbaijan security forces and religious Shia residents in which two policemen and four suspected Shia Muslim militants were killed.[25][26][27][28][29][30]
As a result of this incident, the Azerbaijani parliament passed laws prohibiting people with religious education received abroad to implement Islamic rites and ceremonies in Azerbaijan, as well as to preach in mosques and occupy leading positions in the country; as well as prohibiting the display of religious paraphernalia, flags and slogans, except in places of worship, religious centers and offices.
See also
- The State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan
- 2007 Baku terrorist plot
Further reading
- Bedford, Sofie (2009). Islamic activism in Azerbaijan: repression and mobilization in a Post-Soviet context (Ph.D.). Stockholm University.
- Collins, Kathleen (October 2007). "Ideas, networks, and Islamist movements: Evidence from Central Asia and the Caucasus".
- Cornell, Svante E. (October 2006). "The politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan". Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Silk Road Studies Program. Pdf.
- Dragadze, Tamara (1994), "Islam in Azerbaijan: The position of women", in Fawzi El-Solh, Camillia; Mabro, Judy (eds.), Muslim women's choices: Religious belief and social reality, Providence, Rhode Island New York: Berg Distributed in North America by New York University Press, pp. 152–163, ISBN 9780854968367.
- Karagiannis, Emmanuel (2010). "Political Islam in the former Soviet Union: Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan compared". Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, Pathways Toward Terrorism and Genocide. 3 (1): 46–61. S2CID 143621102.
- Motika, Raoul (July–September 2001). "Islam in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan". Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions. 46 (115): 111–124. JSTOR 30127240.
- Sattarov, Rufat (2009). Islam, state, and society in independent Azerbaijan: between historical legacy and post-Soviet reality with special reference to Baku and its environs. Wiesbaden: Reichert. ISBN 9783895006920. Online
- Tohidi, Nayereh (January–April 1996). "Soviet in public, Azeri in private: Gender, Islam, and nationality in Soviet and post-Soviet Azerbaijan". Women's Studies International Forum. 19 (1–2): 111–123. .
References
- ^ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". Pew Research Center. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ "Islam and Secularism: the Azerbaijani experience and its reflection in France". PR Web. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ^ a b "Middle East :: Azerbaijan — The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- ^ "Interactive Data Table: World Muslim Population by Country". Pew Research Center. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- ^
Sources:
- "2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Azerbaijan". U.S Department of State. 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022.
According to 2011 SCWRA data (the most recent available), 96 percent of the population is Muslim, of which approximately 65 percent is Shia and 35 percent Sunni.
- Greenger, Nurit (8 May 2017). "Azerbaijan a Destination Worthwhile. My week travel log in Azerbaijan - Day two". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023.
- Balci, Bayram (18 March 2013). "The Syrian Crisis: A View from Azerbaijan". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022.
- Ismayilov, Murad (2018). "1: Hybrid Intentionality and Exogenus Sources of Elite's Manifold Attitudes to Islam in Azerbaijan". The Dialectics of Post-Soviet Modernity and the Changing Contours of Islamic Discourse in Azerbaijan. London SE11 4AB: Lexington Books. p. 2. ISBN 9781498568364.)
the country's population historically divided between the Shia (currently some 50-65 percent of the population) and the Sunni (about 35-50 percent).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link
- "2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Azerbaijan". U.S Department of State. 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022.
- S. Nielsem, Jorgen; Balciz Goyushov, Bayram, Altay (2013). "Azerbaijan". Yearbook of Muslims in Europe: Volume 5. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. p. 65. ISBN 978-90-04-25456-5.)
quote:"While traditionally approximately 65% of local Muslims are considered Shi'i and 35% Sunnis, due to a great success of international Sunni missionary organisations after the collapse of the Soviet Union, currently the estimated number of practicising Sunni and Shi'i Muslims in the big urban areas are almost equal"
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Whitaker's Shorts 2015: International. Bloomsbury. 2014. ISBN 9781472914842.
- ^ Mammadli, Nijat (7 June 2018). "Islam and Youth in Azerbaijan". Baku Research Institute. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023.
quote:"Also, according to rough estimates, Shiites constitute 60-65% of the Muslim population, and Sunnis – 35-40%."
- ^ a b Mammadli, Nijat (7 June 2018). "Islam and Youth in Azerbaijan". Baku Research Institute. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ OCLC 31709972.
- ISBN 9780203641675. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ISBN 978-1909724808.
In 1922 Soviet officials and local intellectuals, living in the newly-created republic of Soviet Azerbaijan, in order to reduce the influence of Islam and Iran, as well as to instill a much-needed national identity, introduced a Latin alphabet, similar to the new Latin alphabet created in Turkey for much the same reasons.
- ^ Bournoutian, George (2018). Armenia and Imperial Decline: The Yerevan Province, 1900-1914. Routledge. pp. xiii–xiv.
In 1922, the Soviets, in order to reduce the influence of Islam and Iran as well as to instill a much-needed national identity, replaced the Arabo-Persian script used by the Muslims in the South Caucasus with a Latin alphabet (slightly modified in 1933), similar to the new Latin alphabet created in Turkey for much the same reason.
- ^ ALESKEROVA, Nesrin (2007). "SUFISM IN AZERBAIJAN". CA & CC Press. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Svante E. Cornell. The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ Tadeusz Swietochowski Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam. World Policy Journal, Volume XIX, No 3, Fall 2002
- ^ Fereydoun Safizadeh, "On Dilemmas of Identity in the Post-Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan," Caucasian Regional Studies, vol.3, no.1 (1998).
- ^ Religiosity Highest in World's Poorest Nations August 31, 2010 - data accessed on 22 May 2015
- ^ Wiktor-Mach, Dobroslawa (2017). Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. De Gruyter. pp. 92–93.
- ^ "Azerbaijani Jews worried over increasing radical Islamists, By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz - 02.15.2006". Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - Europe - Azeri poverty fuels rise of Islam". Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- ^ "Home".
- ^ Fuller, Liz (8 April 2008). "Azerbaijan: Does Wahhabism Pose A Threat?". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- ^ Souleimanov, Emil; Ehrmann, Maya (Fall 2013). "The Rise of Militant Salafism in Azerbaijan and Its Regional Implications". Middle East Policy Council. XX (3). Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ "The Clear Banner: The Forgotten Fighters: Azerbaijani Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq". JIHADOLOGY. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "GUEST POST: Azerbaijani Foreign Fighters in Syria". JIHADOLOGY. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "Рамиль Усубов: В связи с событиями в Нардаране арестованы 32 человека – ВИДЕО". 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Дороги в Нардаран перекрыты бетонными плитами - [ВИДЕО]". Archived from the original on 2015-12-27. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
- ^ "Ситуация в Нардаране остается напряженной". Archived from the original on 2015-12-27. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
- ^ "МВД сообщает, что в доме Э.Гасымова обнаружено оружие". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
- ^ "Тела убитых в Нардаране выданы родным" [The bodies of those killed in Nardaran were handed over to their relatives]. Кавказский узел [Caucasian Knot] (in Russian). December 5, 2015. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ "RUSSIA TO REDIRECT MASSIVE OIL VOLUMES FROM DRUZHBA TO BALTIC PIPELINE | the Jamestown Foundation". Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2010-04-05.[tt_news]=44846&cHash=c3ba7363d698036659ab0e10c671aeaf
- ^ "В Азербайджане запретят мулл, обучавшихся за границей (Azerbaijan has banned mullahs studying abroad)" (in Russian). Oxu.az. 2 December 2015.
- ^ "В Азербайджане запрещают различные представления в дни Ашура (Azerbaijan will forbid various representations in the days of Ashura)" (in Russian). Oxu.az. 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Террористов будут лишать азербайджанского гражданства (Terrorists will be deprived Azerbaijani citizenship)" (in Russian). Oxu.az. 2 December 2015.
Notes
Further reading
- Bashirov, Galib (2020). "The Politics of the Hijab in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan". Nationalities Papers. 48 (2): 357–372. S2CID 212928375.
External links
- ISLAMIC AND ETHNIC IDENTITIES IN AZERBAIJAN: EMERGING TRENDS AND TENSIONS, A Discussion Paper, by Hema Kotecha, OSCE, 2006 Archived 2009-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
- Azerbaijan: Islam in a post-soviet republic. By Anar Valiyev, CAEI
- Azerbaijan: Islamic threat to religious harmony, Open Democracy News Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine