CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 149

KRISTINE MARGARYAN
ty about Azerbaijanis identity, and the void was tried to be fi lled by Western
legacy and culture. To infer, Islam can be considered as a reaction to both
Communism and rapid Westernization. 10 Alstadt claims that some Azerbai-
janis saw Islam as a means to bring back their historic identity and a matter
of piety, while for the others Islam was a guide of morality. 11
Some internal factors are also considered as reasons for Islamic Re-
vival in Azerbaijan. Some scholars indicate that poverty, unemployment
and social inequality more or less infl uenced on the Azerbaijanis appeal
to Islam. 12 After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijanis found
themselves in economic stagnation and social hardship. Therefore, reli-
gious people and mullahs in Azerbaijan started to promote “religion as
alternative” to the corruption, nepotism, and socio-economic conditions. 13
Thus, religion was considered as a solution for domestic problems. Edu-
cation was another source of Islamic revival. Lack of religious education
resulted in more interest in religion, which used to be restricted during
Soviet times. Therefore, it was not surprising that people of independent
Azerbaijan then willingly welcomed missionaries and “experts on Is-
lam”. 14 The reasons why more radical patterns of Islam were absent in
Azerbaijanis society that time were the Soviet’s secular legacy, closeness
towards Turkism, multi-ethnicism with its tolerant culture and local tra-
ditions, 15 the infl uence of oil industry and the expansion of western cul-
ture. 16 Later on, however, expansion of radicalism and fundamentalism
started to be propagated by foreign infl uences and foreign missionaries.
Factors infl uencing Islamization and radicalization
of Azerbaijan
In course of time, some radical patterns were noticed in Azerbaijan.
Literature divides the factors infl uencing radicalization into domestic and
external ones. As Salayeva and Baranick noted, Azerbaijan is vulnera-
ble nowadays and “is not immune from radicalism”. 17 Already in 1990s,
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Geybullayeva, “Is Azerbaijan Becoming a Hub of Radical Islam?”; Karagiannis, “Political
Islam in the Former Soviet Union”, 55; Nedea, Jafarov and Mamadov, “Radical Islam in
Azerbaijan”.
Audrey Alstadt, Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan, (Washington D.C.: Wood-
row Wilson Center Press, 2017).
Emil Aslan Souleimanov and Maya Ehrmann, “The Rise of Militant Salafi sm in Azerbaijan
and its Regional Implications,” Middle East Policy, 20:3, (2013); Geybullayeva, Is Azerbai-
jan Becoming a Hub of Radical Islam?; Hema Kotecha, “Islamic and Ethnic Identities in
Azerbaijan: Emerging Trends and Tensions,” OSCE, Baku, (2006).
Vahram Ter-Matevosyan and Nelli Minsayan, “Praying Under Restrictions: Islam, Identity
and Social Change in Azerbaijan,” Europe-Asia Studies, (2017): 819-837.
Geybullayeva, “Is Azerbaijan Becoming a Hub of Radical Islam?”.
Salayeva and Baranick, “Addressing Terrorist Threats in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan”.
Rotar, “Under the Green Banner,” 94-96.
Salayeva and Baranick, Addressing Terrorist Threats in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
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