CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Seite 162

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA
perceiving themselves as religious ones rose systematically from 2010 to
2013, reaching 57% of those identifying themselves as religious people.
Analysis of external infl uences
Azerbaijanis in Syria and Iraq
On 3 March of 2017 a conference “The role of youth in the fi ght
against terrorism, extremism and radicalism” was held in Azerbaijan. 78
According to the State Security Service Lieutenant General Madat Guli-
yev, around 900 Azerbaijanis have been fi ghting in the ranks of ISIS. As
he also reported, 85 people were condemned on terrorist activities, as of
2016, 54 Azerbaijani citizens were stripped of citizenship for joining the
terrorist fi ght in Syria and Iraq. 79 In addition, he also admitted, that radi-
calism has becoming a widespread phenomenon in Azerbaijan.
An interesting trend is the signifi cant number of women aiming to
travel to Syria with their children and those women refusing to return to
Azerbaijan even if their husbands had been killed. Although there is not
an estimated number, such cases are not few. Many cases have been re-
ported in 2014. Recently, Kavkaz Uzel media outlet reported about 300
killed Azerbaijani citizens and more than 100 Azerbaijani families with
children still staying in the ranks of ISIS. 80 On 19 February of 2018,
Azerbaijani media informed that 11 women were sentenced to life in jail
for being in the ranks of ISIS, one of whom was an Azerbaijani woman. 81
As women claimed, they were forced to join ISIS by their husbands, who
pretended to be wounded. As one of the women stated “I wanted to live in
an Islamic state where sharia is the law of the land,” 82 According to media
reports, ISIS pays money to those, who wants to bring his/her family in
Syria and Iraq. 83 As noted, now Azerbaijani children replenish the ranks
of ISIS.
Media also covers the cases of those, who received training outside of
Azerbaijan within ISIS and were involved in the operations of creating
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“State Security Offi cer: More Than 900 Azerbaijanis in the Ranks of ISIS,” Meydan TV,
March 7, 2017, https://www.meydan.tv/en/site/news/21656/ (accessed March 15, 2018).
Ibid.
“Vlasti Obyavili o Gibeli na Blizhnem Vostoke Bolee 300 Azerbaidzhancev,” (in Russian)
[The authorities announced the death of more than 300 Azeribaijanis in the Middle East],
Kavkaz Uzel, January 29, 2018), https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/315784/ (accessed May
7, 2018).
“Turkish, Azerbaijani Women Sentenced to Life in Prison for Collaborating with ISIL,” News.
az, February 19, 2018, https://news.az/articles/society/129135 (accessed April 28, 2018).
Ibid.
“Uchyonie Nazvali Prichiny Radikalizacii Molodyozhi Yuzhnogo Kavkaza,” (in Russian),
[“The Scientists named the reasons of the youth radicalization in South Caucasus”] Kavkaz
Uzel, March 23, 2018, https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/318200/ (accessed April 29, 2018).
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