Religious Relationships Between Turkey and Azerbaijan
77
RELİGİOUS RELATİONSHİPS BETWEEN
TURKEY AND AZERBAİJAN
By Namig Abuzarov Ph.D
Baku State University
Key words: Azerbaijan, Turkey, Theology, and Religion
Açar sözlər: Azərbaycan, Türkiyə, Teologiya və Din
Ключевые слова: Религия; Теология; Ислам.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan regained its independence.
Throughout the seventy years of colonialism, the Soviet atheist ideology was imposed
on Azerbaijani Muslim people through education and other means. Although the Soviet
atheist ideology succeeded to a limited extent, the majority of Azerbaijani people
managed to preserve their Muslim identity, at least at a cultural level. This encouraged
the neighbouring countries like Turkey, Iran and some Arab-speaking countries to take
part in shaping Islam in Azerbaijan since 1991.
Despite the fact that nearly 99% of Azerbaijani people are Muslim, the Republic
of Azerbaijan is constitutionally secular.
1
So, it is equidistant from all religious
divisions regardless of their origin. The constitution of the republic of Azerbaijan
ensures the liberty of worship to everyone. Under the article 48 of the constitution
(freedom of conscience) everyone has the right to choose or “define his/her attitude
to religion, to profess, individually or together with others, any religion or to profess
no religion, to express and spread one's beliefs concerning religion.”
According to
paragraphs 1-3 of article 18 of the constitution,
religion in the Azerbaijan Republic
is separated from state and all religions are equal before the law.
2
Turkey, likewise, is constitutionally secular and is committed to adopt western
values, like democracy, human rights etc. Moreover, Turkey has at least 85 years of
experience in enabling the religion (Islam) to coexist with secularism. This sets a
1
According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, 99.2% of the Azerbaijani population is at
least nominally Muslim. (Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/files/2009/10/
Muslimpopulation.pdf)
2
http://azerbaijan.az/portal/General/Constitution/doc/constitution_e.pdf
Namig Abuzarov
78
precedent for Muslim-majority countries like Azerbaijan, which strive to remain
secular but at the same time preserve its historical traditions and values, including its
Muslim identity. Externally, Turkey shares its experience and extends its influence
via official government agency on religious affairs and through the activities of
Turkish social religious movements. Both of these channels are the main focus of
this investigation. Hence, the influence of the Turkish governmental and social
movements in shaping Islam in Azerbaijan takes several shapes and it requires
multifaceted approach.
Before everything else, it is needed to note that, the religious relationship between
Azerbaijan and Turkey possesses unique characteristic that sets it apart from the
relationships with other neighboring countries. There are some many factors in its
uniqueness. Firstly, both countries share the same ethnic root that plays central role in
their realtionships. Common ethnicity and language among those factors that link
together Azerbaijanis and Turkish people regardless of their sectarian background.
The most ardent representatives of the Shiite Muslims, which constitute a
majority of Azerbaijan’s Muslim population (65-70%), inhabit the southern regions
bordering Iran. The Sunnis (30-35%) predominantly live in the northern regions
neighboring Russia’s Dagestan.
3
So, Shiite understanding of Islam sets religious
tone in Azerbaijan. A reference to the Shi’a-Sunni division, however, should not be
overestimated. Many in Azerbaijan would find it difficult to distinguish between the
two branches of Islam or even to identify their adherence to one of the branches.
4
Nevertheless according to a survey conducted in 2003, 64% of respondents in
Azerbaijan declared a positive attitude towards Turkey, which appeared to be most
popular among residents of Baku and western Azerbaijan. The Absheron Peninsula,
which is inhabited predominantly by Shiite Muslims, was also more pro-Turkish
than pro-Iranian.
5
Nearly the same result applies to Turkish people as well. In a
survey conducted by A&G in Turkey in 2006, 71.4% of respondents believed that
Azerbaijan is the first country among nine countries that considered as their
‘friend’.
6
Above-mentioned relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan trace back to
3
Bert MIDDEL, (Netherlands) Rapporteur, State and Religion in the Black Sea Region,
NATO Parliamentary Assembly, 28 August 2007, p.6.
4
Bert MIDDEL, (Netherlands) Rapporteur, ‘State and Religion in the Black Sea Region’,
NATO Parliamentary Assembly, 28 August 2007, p.6.
5
Jerzy Rohozinski, Azerbaijan and Turkey, CES Report, Part II, Warsaw 2008, p. 9.
6
Halk Ab’ye guvenmiyor, Milliyet, 24 October 2006, Retrieved from:
http://www.milliyet.com/2006/10/24/siyaset/asiy.html
Religious Relationships Between Turkey and Azerbaijan
79
the early and mid-1990s and over the course of time it became much stronger by
cultural, economical and political relations and paved the way for religious relations.
Turkish religious activities in Azerbaijan are carried out primarily through two
channels: the governmental and the non-governmental. In both cases, these activities
tend to be accommodating toward the state and to follow Azerbaijani laws and
requirements.
7
The governmental activities are conducted mainly under the supervision of the
Turkish Diyanet Foundation. The foundation that helps and supports Presidency of
Religious Affairs (under the Government of Turkey) in introducing Islam with its
genuine characteristics and enlightening society about religion, building and
equipping mosques in needed locations, opening and running medical centers for the
indigent, delivering the almsgiving ( zakat and fitrah) made by Muslim citizens to
the needy according to the rules, and developing social aid and relief services.
8
Turkish Diyanet Foundation provides thousands of Turkish and foreign students
with scholarships and dormitories to attend universities in Turkey and overseas. Since
the early 90s it has established 9 high schools and 7 faculties of theology in 10
predominantly Muslim-majority countries including Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan,
Kazakhstan, Romania, Bulgaria, Somalia, Haiti, Pakistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
9
In 1992 Turkish Diyanet Foundation signed a contract with Ministry of Education
of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Baku State University to found the Faculty of
Theology. In accordance with the terms of the contract, Turkish professors were invited
to the Faculty of Theology to teach Islamic sciences to Azerbaijani students.
The former minister of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations
(SCWRA), Rafig Aliyev signed a contract on March 2003 with the former minister of the
Presidency of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı),
Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz on cooperation in the field of religious education.
10
The contract that signed between two countries suggested the following
obligations viz.
7
Svante E. Cornell, The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan, p. 50. Washington 2006.
8
Ömer Turan, (2008) ‘The Turkish Diyanet Foundation’, The Muslim World, vol. 98, no.2,
p. 370, (28 March 2015) Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com
9
These numbers and data are from Türkiye Diyanet Foundation website. (29 March 2015)
Retrieved from http://www.diyanetvakfi.org.tr/site/icerik/egitim-ogretim-faaliyetleri-1077
10
This document is available as a DOC(X) format on the official website of the State
Committee for Work with Religious Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan. (20
December 2014) Retrieved from
http://scwra.gov.az/docs/150/
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