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- Bedford, Sofie
(författare)
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Islamic Activism in Azerbaijan : Repression and Mobilization in a Post-Soviet Context
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Post-Soviet Azerbaijan is often portrayed as a very secular country. Thus the mobilization of mosque communities in the late 1990s and their conflictual relationship with the authorities came as a surprise. The main aim of the dissertation is to shed light on this mobilization, focusing on the Sunni Abu Bakr and the Shi’ite Juma mosque communities in Baku. On the premise that Islamic mobilization may be interpreted as a “social movement”, internal, contextual and interactional aspects of mobilization have been studied. The analysis is chiefly based on interviews conducted in Baku in 2004/2005 with Imams, worshippers, religious and secular authorities. The study finds that young people looking for new approaches to religion have been drawn to these communities, where they encounter an independent, educated, conscientious clergy and, indeed, a “new” religion. This “sovereign” Islam does not go down well with authorities who fear politicization of religion. The Soviet heritage has provided them with a view of religion as something that should not be publicly displayed and with the institutions to control religion. Another key feature whose impact on state policy towards religious organizations cannot be underestimated is the fear of imported radicalism. A look at Islamic mobilization in North Caucasus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reveals many similarities, yet one momentous difference is the harsher repression in these contexts, which decreases the chances of a non-radical mobilization. The thesis concludes that the role of the state in mobilization processes in non-democratic contexts is crucial but counterintuitive, as the regimes’ efforts to stop the mobilization of movements actually leads to its intensification. In Azerbaijan, official pressure brings community members closer together and strengthens their resolve, rather than putting an end to mobilization. It also puts a spotlight on these communities which lights up the way for others in search of something new.
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- Bedford, Sofie, 1975-
(författare)
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Nya rörelser, gamla tankesätt och nationella problem : Muslimsk aktivism i postsovjetiska Azerbajdzjan
- 2007
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Ingår i: Nordisk Østforum. - Oslo : Universitetsforlaget AS. - 0801-7220 .- 1891-1773. ; 21:3, s. 275-299
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Azerbaijan, like other former Soviet republics, experienced something of a religious “boom” during glasnost and the first post-independence years as religion re-emerged in public life. By the late 1990s, however, the state, feeling threatened by imported religious movements, introduced various laws that sharply decreased the autonomy that religious organizations had been enjoying. Certain Islamic communities that did not accept this renewed state monopoly on religion then gained a reputation of being “controversial” and found themselves in conflict with the secular and religious authorities. This situation made religion an issue in the political arena – something previously unheard of in Azerbaijan. This article examines this development by studying two Islamic communities of this type. These are affiliated with two mosques in Baku – the Shiite Juma and the Sunni Abu Bakr mosques – which are distinguished both by their increasing popularity in society and by their wish to distance themselves from “other” traditional mosques. The article concludes that even though various external influences are present, the development of Islamic activism in Azerbaijan seems related primarily to disappointment at how the political elite has handled the political, economical, social and moral situation in the country since independence. As long as this situation does not improve, a rise in the influence of such movements is only to be expected.
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| 4. |
- Bedford, Sofie, 1975-
(författare)
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Praying for change : Islamic opposition in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan
- 2008
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Ingår i: EurOrient. - Paris : EurOrient. ; :28, s. 131-156, s. 131-150
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Echouant au fil des années à prouver sa crédibilité et sa pertinence, l’opposition politique azerbaïdjanaise, selon les analyses de la plupart des commentateurs, a perdu le soutien de la population. Ainsi constatant de plus le déclin manifeste des partis traditionnels d’opposition aux dernières élections législatives (2005), certains ont spéculé sur les risques de voir l’islam radical devenir l’unique alternative politique résistante en Azerbaïdjan. Cependant, en majorité, les mobilisations islamistes, qu’il est déjà possible d’observer dans le pays, n’ont que peu à voir avec la notion classique d’« islam politique », telle que nous la comprenons par exemple dans le cadre du contexte moyen-oriental. Ici, les groupes islamiques considérés ont beaucoup plus en commun avec des mouvements sociaux qui ne sont pas nécessairement religieux et qui visent à faire évoluer divers aspects de la société
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| 5. |
- Bedford, Sofie, 1975-
(författare)
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Stat och religion i Centralasien
- 2005
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Ingår i: Centralasien. - Stockholm : Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi. ; , s. 121-142
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Bokkapitel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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| 6. |
- Bedford, Sofie
(författare)
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'Wahhabis', democrats and everything in between : The development of Islamic activism in post-Soviet Azerbaijan
- 2007
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Ingår i: Ethno-Nationalism, Islam and the State in the Caucasus. - London : Routledge. - 9780203933794 - 9781134098538 ; , s. 194-211
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Azerbaijan, like other former Soviet republics, experienced something of a religious ‘boom’ after independence, as religion re-emerged in public life. The 17 mosques that had existed in Soviet times suddenly mushroomed into thousands, other places of worship were restored, many religious organizations registered and the opportunity to study religion in the country as well as to travel to religious universities abroad was made possible.1 When Azerbaijan became independent it was decided that the country would distance itself from the atheist policies of the Soviet Union, but stay a strictly secular state. Nevertheless Azerbaijani leaders have at times used religion to strengthen their leadership. Former President Heydar Aliyev demonstrated his commitment to religion already during his inauguration by swearing the presidential oath on the Constitution as well as the Qura’n. Later he made sure to celebrate officially almost every important Muslim holiday.2 Still, he made a point of keeping the clear-cut difference established during Soviet times between ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ Islam, the former being under government control. This became particularly clear after 1997 when a number of laws were introduced that sharply decreased the autonomy of religious organizations.
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