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{{Mergeto|Islam in Azerbaijan|date=May 2009}} {{Mergeto|Islam in Azerbaijan|date=May 2009}}
'''Radical Islamism in Azerbaijan''' is the rise of ] across the country as a result of continued problems such as ], poverty, and semi-authoritarian government rule, combined with disillusionment with the ] and support of ]s from different countries.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> '''Radical Islamism in Azerbaijan''' is the rise of ] across the country as a result of continued problems such as ], poverty, and semi-authoritarian government rule, combined with disillusionment with the ] and support of ]s from different countries.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>

A 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.<ref></ref>


==Current situation== ==Current situation==

Revision as of 07:27, 15 May 2009

It has been suggested that this article be merged into Islam in Azerbaijan. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2009.

Radical Islamism in Azerbaijan is the rise of religious extremism across the country as a result of continued problems such as corruption, poverty, and semi-authoritarian government rule, combined with disillusionment with the West and support of religious sects from different countries.

Current situation

According to Svante Cornell:

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.

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. He writes, that the Government policies toward Islam in general and Islamic radicalism in particular have been inadequate.

Islamic activism, and radicalism, has geographic variations: while Shias are strong in the South of Azerbaijan, the Sunni radicalism is growing in the North, and the capital is experiencing growth in both Shi’a and Sunni radicalism. The Islamic Groups and Forces in Azerbaijan include the Abu Bakr Mosque community, The Juma Mosque Community, the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan and Jeyshullah.

Wahhabists

Today Wahhabi congregation, particularly the radical part of Salafists, are considered one of the dangerous radical Islamic groups in Azerbaijan. Before the November 6, 2005 elections Rafik Aliyev, chairman of the Azerbaijani government's Committee for Work with Religious Formations, warned that the increased activity of "Wahhabis," poses a threat to political stability in Azerbaijan. In October, 2007 the Azerbaijani government reported it thwarted a Wahhabi radical Islamic group’s plot to conduct a “large-scale, horrifying terror attack” against US and British diplomatic missions and government buildings. According to the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry, one suspect was killed and several others were detained in a weekend sweep in village outside the capital. The State Department closed US embassy in Baku for a period, as well as the UK embassy in Azerbaijan also suspended services due to "local security concerns".

The Islamic group included an army lieutenant who stole 20 hand grenades, a machine gun, assault rifles and other military ammunition from his army unit for the planned attack.

According to Imam Ilgar Ibrahimoglu "it is no secret to anyone that radical Wahhabi groups have been active in Azerbaijan for several years," and that there is no indication of a weakening of that trend because of the lack of democracy, frequent human rights violations, and the authorities' repression of less radical but unregistered religious communities. Sheikh ul Islam Pasha-zade also was quoted as openly branding the congregation of the Abu-Bakr mosque as "Wahhabis" and as implicitly criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities for failing to crack down on them.

An Attack on Abu Bakr Mosque of Baku took place on August 17, 2008 when a man or men threw a grenade through a window of the Abu Bakr (Abu-Bekir) mosque, used both by Sunni and Wahhabi Muslims, during the evening prayer. Three people were killed and 13 injured. During the investigation, 26 persons were accused of Article 214 (terrorism), 279 (creation of a armed formations or groups, which are not provided by the legislation) and others of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan Republic, and one person, the leader of “Forest brothers” radical group, was killed during a special operation.

Al-Qaeda

In 1998 after the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi, as as result of the fax that was sent from Baku, the level of activity of Al-Qaeda in the country was discovered.. Following to this members of the Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya close to Al-Qaeda movement were arrested in Azerbaijan and extradicated to Cairo. An Al-Qaeda operative, Abu Atiya, was arrested in Baku and turned over to the CIA. The arrests came after security forces engaged in a search for more than a month, that finally led them to a safe house in Sumgayit, where the militants were arrested.

Amiraslan Iskenderov, the head of a Salafist gang in Azerbaijan, received special training at al-Qaeda-connected training camps of Afghanistan and was taught how to make and use bombs and organize mass killings of people in public places, and was also assigned to recruit young girls with extremist religious views to become suicide bombers in Azerbaijan. Iskenderov’s group prepared a statement on behalf of al-Qaeda in the Caucasus, threatening the Azerbaijani government with bombings in Baku. Currently Iskanderov and his group are prisoned.

Tovba

Tovba (Repentance) Radical Islamic organization, that supported the usage of Arabic script in prevail of Latin in Azerbaijan in early-1990's, was expanded from Azerbaijan to Central Asia and founded it's power structures in Ferghana Valley in 1991. According to Stephen Roth Institute, Tovba, as well as Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islamiyya were among the organizations in Azerbaijan and in Central Asia that "reflect the anti Israel and anti Jewish attitudes of the parent organizations in the Middle East, which finance the dissemination of their propaganda."

Nur sect

Influence of Turkey in shaping Islam in post-Soviet Azerbaijan was due to a combination of popular Islam and Turkic nationalism promoted by the Turkish extremist religious sect, Nur (Light).

See also

Publications

External links

References

  1. IS AZERBAIJAN BECOMING A HUB OF RADICAL ISLAM? by Arzu Geybullayeva, European Stability Initiative
  2. Azerbaijani Jews worried over increasing radical Islamists, By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz - 02.15.2006
  3. Azeri poverty fuels rise of Islam. By Natalia Antelava, BBC News, 2005
  4. Azerbaijan plot shows radicals' threat has teeth, 08 Nov 2007, Reuters
  5. Azerbaijan: Does Wahhabism Pose A Threat? August 07, 2005 By Liz Fuller
  6. Svante E. Cornell. The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan.
  7. Svante E. Cornell. The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan.
  8. Svante E. Cornell. The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan.
  9. Svante E. Cornell. The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan.
  10. IS AZERBAIJAN BECOMING A HUB OF RADICAL ISLAM? by Arzu Geybullayeva, European Stability Initiative
  11. Azerbaijan: Does Wahhabism Pose A Threat? RFE/RL, August 07, 2005, By Liz Fuller
  12. Azerbaijan: ‘Horrifying’ terror attack thwarted. U.S. Embassy, several government structures targeted, official says. Associated Press, Oct. 2007
  13. US Embassy Targeted by Azerbaijan Terror Cell, Moscow News, № 43 2007
  14. Azerbaijan: ‘Horrifying’ terror attack thwarted. U.S. Embassy, several government structures targeted, official says. Associated Press, Oct. 2007
  15. Azerbaijan: Does Wahhabism Pose A Threat? August 07, 2005 By Liz Fuller
  16. Azerbaijan: 'Alternative Islam' Takes Several Forms, August 10, 2007, RFE/RL, By Liz Fuller and Babek Bakir
  17. United States condemns attack on the Abu Bakr Mosque in Azerbaijan’s capital, ANS press, 2008
  18. Azeri president to oversee mosque blast probe, 18 Aug 2008, Reuters, By Lada Yevgrashina
  19. Preliminary investigation on Abu-Bakir mosque case finished, ANS Press, 2009
  20. U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, “US Vs. Usama Bin Laden” in Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan, 2 May 2001, p. 5440
  21. David S. Cloud, “Long In US Sights, A Young Terrorist Builds Grim Resume On Journey to Iraq, Zarqawi Forged Ties With Al-Qaeda, Attracted Own Followers; An Amputation in Baghdad”, The Wall Street Journal, 10 February 2004
  22. AZERBAIJAN: EVALUATING THE RADICAL ISLAMIC SECURITY THREAT, by Rovshan Ismayilov 11/30/07, Eurasia Insight
  23. http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews=4587 The Two Faces of Salafism in Azerbaijan. Terrorism Focus Volume: 4 Issue: 40, December 7, 2007, By: Anar Valiyev
  24. http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews=4587 The Two Faces of Salafism in Azerbaijan. Terrorism Focus Volume: 4 Issue: 40, December 7, 2007, By: Anar Valiyev
  25. Politics of language in the ex-Soviet Muslim states: Azerbayjan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, by Jacob M. Landau, Barbara Kellner-Heinkele, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2001, p. 131
  26. Problems Associated with Radicalism of Islamic Organizations in Kyrgyzstan, by Vycheslav M. Khamisov // The Quarterly Journal, March 2003, p. 3
  27. Former Soviet Union 2001-2, Overview, by Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, Tel-Aviv University, 2005
  28. IS AZERBAIJAN BECOMING A HUB OF RADICAL ISLAM? by Arzu Geybullayeva, European Stability Initiative
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