Protecting Nation, State and Government: ‘Traditional Islam’ in Azerbaijan

Sofie Bedford, Ceyhun Mahmudlu and Shamkhal Abilov

Europe-Asia Studies, 2021, vol. 73, issue 4, 691-712

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2021.1899136

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