Book Review
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Review of Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan by Dobrosława Wiktor-Mach

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 14, 157 - 164, 31.05.2023

Abstract

This book review considers Wiktor-Mach’s Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. The author provides an excellent example of how religious revival developed in a post-Soviet country, i.e., Azerbaijan, through interviewing religious actors and individuals. She embeds her analysis in a historical perspective on Islam in Azerbaijan, which makes it clearer why there is a division between pious and ethnic Muslims and why the differences between Shia and Sunni interpretations of Islam ceased to be important. Wiktor-Mach predicts that Sunni Islam in its Turkish variant will gain strength, while Shiism is not giving up. Wiktor-Mach focuses on Baku, and thus, her work can be counted among Islamic urban studies. Further studies would be welcome which analyse the development of Islam in the regions of Azerbaijan.

References

  • Asad, Talal. The idea of an anthropology of Islam. Occasional Papers Series, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, 1986.
  • Bedford, Sofie. Islamic Activism in Azerbaijan: Repression and Mobilization in a Post-Soviet Context. 2009. Stockholm University. PhD dissertation, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-8429.
  • Bedford, Sofie & Souleimanov, Emil Aslan. “Under construction and highly contested: Islam in the post-Soviet Caucasus”, Third World Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 9, 2016, pp. 1559-1580, DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2016.1166047
  • Book description. Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan, by Dobroslawa Wiktor-Mach, De Gruyter, 2017.
  • Cornell, Svante E.. “The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan”. Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, 2006.
  • Grant, Bruce. “Cosmopolitan Baku”', Ethnos, vol. 75, no. 2, 2010, pp. 123 – 147.
  • Hirschkind, Charles. The Ethical Soundscape. Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics, Columbia University Press, 2006
  • Kotecha, Hema. Islamic and Ethnic Identities in Azerbaijan: Emerging trends and tensions, OSCE, Jul. 2006, https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/b/c/23809.pdf. Accessed 6 November 2022.
  • Mahmood, Saba. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject, Princeton University Press, 2011.
  • Malik, Bilal A. “Islam in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan: Experiencing Public Revival of Islam through Institutionalisation”, Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, vol. 13, no. 3, 2019, pp. 351-369, DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2019.1630576
  • Mirayiq, Afaq. Şəhid dəfnlərində verilən əzaların doğurduğu reaksiya. 23 Sep. 2022, https://musavat.com/news/sehid-defnlerinde-verilen-ezalarin-dogurdugu-reaksiya_922855.html, accessed 25 September 2022.
  • Schielke, Samuli. “Being good in Ramadan: ambivalence, fragmentation, and the moral self in the lives of young Egyptians”. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 15, 2009, pp. 24-S40, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2009.01540.x
  • Sultanova, Shahla. Azerbaijan: Islam Comes with a Secular Face. 15 Aug. 2013, https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-islam-comes-with-a-secular-face, accessed 6 November 2022.
  • Tohidi, Nayereh. Soviet in Public. Azeri in Private. Gender, Islam, and Nationality in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Women’s Studies International Forum. vol. 19, no. 1-2, 1996, pp. 111-123.
  • UC Berkeley. Saba Mahmood, In Memoriam. 2, https://criticaltheory.berkeley.edu/people/saba-mahmood/, accessed 27 October 2022.
  • Wiktor-Mach, Dobroslawa. Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan, De Gruyter, 2017.
  • Yunusov, Arif. Islam in Azerbaijan, Zaman, 2004.
  • Zhussipbek, Galym et al. “Some Common Patterns of Islamic Revival in Post-Soviet Central Asia and Challenges to Develop Human Rights and Inclusive Society. Religions, vol. 11, no. 548, 2020, pp. 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3730891

Review of Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan by Dobrosława Wiktor-Mach [Dobrosława Wiktor-Mach'ın Sovyet Sonrası Azerbaycan'da Dini Uyanış ve Laiklik Üzerine İncelemesi]

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 14, 157 - 164, 31.05.2023

Abstract

Bu kitap incelemesi, Wiktor-Mach'ın Sovyet Sonrası Azerbaycan'da Dini Uyanış ve Laiklik'i ele alıyor. Yazar, Sovyet sonrası bir ülkede, yani Azerbaycan'da dini dirilişin nasıl geliştiğine dini aktörler ve bireylerle röportajlar yaparak mükemmel bir örnek sunuyor. Analizini, dindar ve etnik Müslümanlar arasında neden bir ayrım olduğunu ve İslam'ın Şii ve Sünni yorumları arasındaki farklılıkların neden önemini yitirdiğini netleştiren, Azerbaycan'da İslam üzerine tarihsel bir perspektif içine yerleştiriyor. Wiktor-Mach, Şiilikten vazgeçmezken, Sünni İslam'ın Türk versiyonunda güç kazanacağını tahmin ediyor. Wiktor-Mach Bakü'ye odaklanıyor ve bu nedenle çalışmaları İslami şehir çalışmaları arasında sayılabilir. Azerbaycan bölgelerinde İslam'ın gelişimini analiz eden daha fazla araştırma memnuniyetle karşılanacaktır.

References

  • Asad, Talal. The idea of an anthropology of Islam. Occasional Papers Series, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, 1986.
  • Bedford, Sofie. Islamic Activism in Azerbaijan: Repression and Mobilization in a Post-Soviet Context. 2009. Stockholm University. PhD dissertation, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-8429.
  • Bedford, Sofie & Souleimanov, Emil Aslan. “Under construction and highly contested: Islam in the post-Soviet Caucasus”, Third World Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 9, 2016, pp. 1559-1580, DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2016.1166047
  • Book description. Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan, by Dobroslawa Wiktor-Mach, De Gruyter, 2017.
  • Cornell, Svante E.. “The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan”. Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, 2006.
  • Grant, Bruce. “Cosmopolitan Baku”', Ethnos, vol. 75, no. 2, 2010, pp. 123 – 147.
  • Hirschkind, Charles. The Ethical Soundscape. Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics, Columbia University Press, 2006
  • Kotecha, Hema. Islamic and Ethnic Identities in Azerbaijan: Emerging trends and tensions, OSCE, Jul. 2006, https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/b/c/23809.pdf. Accessed 6 November 2022.
  • Mahmood, Saba. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject, Princeton University Press, 2011.
  • Malik, Bilal A. “Islam in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan: Experiencing Public Revival of Islam through Institutionalisation”, Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, vol. 13, no. 3, 2019, pp. 351-369, DOI: 10.1080/25765949.2019.1630576
  • Mirayiq, Afaq. Şəhid dəfnlərində verilən əzaların doğurduğu reaksiya. 23 Sep. 2022, https://musavat.com/news/sehid-defnlerinde-verilen-ezalarin-dogurdugu-reaksiya_922855.html, accessed 25 September 2022.
  • Schielke, Samuli. “Being good in Ramadan: ambivalence, fragmentation, and the moral self in the lives of young Egyptians”. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 15, 2009, pp. 24-S40, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2009.01540.x
  • Sultanova, Shahla. Azerbaijan: Islam Comes with a Secular Face. 15 Aug. 2013, https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-islam-comes-with-a-secular-face, accessed 6 November 2022.
  • Tohidi, Nayereh. Soviet in Public. Azeri in Private. Gender, Islam, and Nationality in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Women’s Studies International Forum. vol. 19, no. 1-2, 1996, pp. 111-123.
  • UC Berkeley. Saba Mahmood, In Memoriam. 2, https://criticaltheory.berkeley.edu/people/saba-mahmood/, accessed 27 October 2022.
  • Wiktor-Mach, Dobroslawa. Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan, De Gruyter, 2017.
  • Yunusov, Arif. Islam in Azerbaijan, Zaman, 2004.
  • Zhussipbek, Galym et al. “Some Common Patterns of Islamic Revival in Post-Soviet Central Asia and Challenges to Develop Human Rights and Inclusive Society. Religions, vol. 11, no. 548, 2020, pp. 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3730891
There are 18 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Book Reviews
Authors

Eva Lennartz

Publication Date May 31, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 8 Issue: 14

Cite

MLA Lennartz, Eva. “Review of Religious Revival and Secularism in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan by Dobrosława Wiktor-Mach”. Kafkasya Çalışmaları, vol. 8, no. 14, 2023, pp. 157-64.

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