Description
Book SynopsisAzerbaijan's independence came after seven decades of militant atheism of Soviet modernization project and emerged into staunch secularism of Western modernity, two factors that, on a par with the country's precarious neighborhood, promised a sustained indigenous effort towards the desacralization of the country's political space and the associated exclusion of religion from politics, a modern blueprint that the Azerbaijani state and its society have stood united to diligently follow over the cause of the country's independent existence. Yet the specific dynamics facing the country in the third decade of independence and the changing contours of its international engagements have gradually been working to set the country free from the stifling grips of Western-style modernity and lay the groundwork for quintessentially and esoterically Azerbaijani pathway of statehood to follow, one combining the nation's historical embeddedness in an Islamic milieu with its century-old practical exper
Trade ReviewThis is an excellent book. It makes a very important contribution not only to analyses of the contemporary politics of Azerbaijan, but also to theoretically informed empirical processes of—and imbrication with—secularism, religion, national identity, state formation, etc. It should be essential reading for anyone interested in these issues anywhere. -- Pervaiz Nazir, University of Cambridge
Murad Ismayilov offers us a dynamic analysis of challenging issues and developments in Azerbaijan, an intriguing country about which we all deserve to know more. But we gain much extra, too, with insights into Islamic identity and secularization more broadly, and regarding the phenomena of religion and identity in themselves and widely applicable beyond the country and its region. -- Rick Fawn
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Hybrid Intentionality and Exogenous Sources of the Elite's Manifold Attitudes to Islam in Azerbaijan: Geography, Soviet Legacy, and the Quest for Western Recognition Chapter 2: The Complicity of the Domestic Populace, Secular Opposition, Civil Society, and the International Community in Reproducing the Religious Secular Divide and the Representation of Islam as a Threat Chapter 3: The Contextual Dialectics of Elite Attitudes to Islam in Azerbaijan Chapter 4: The Dynamics of Change: The Bridging of the Religious-Secular Divide and the Normalization of Islamic Discourse across Azerbaijan's Social-Political Landscape Chapter 5: Normalization of Islamic Discourse and the Future of Islam in Azerbaijan: Quo Vadis? Chapter 6: A Shared Landscape of Islamism across the Secularized Middle East
