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| Caucasus |
| 2002-03-15 |
Turan [news agency] last month quoted Zardusht Alizade, co-chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan as saying: "The politicization of Islam has helped drive the secular opposition into corner. A holy place is never empty, and the population has reached out for the mosques... The politicization of Islam was the reaction of the lower classes to the introduction of such attributes of Western mass culture as beauty contests, the cult of eroticism, the legalization of sexual minorities, and the provocative consumption of the upper classes. The ethical puritanism of the conservative sectors of the population manifested itself in the form of devotion to the Islamic behests of their forbears." Yup. That sounds pretty familiar. I know we've heard that someplace before... One of the most influential such mosques is the Cuma or Abu-Bekr mosque in Baku, the construction of which was financed by the Kuwaiti foundation "Restoration of the Islamic Heritage," and whose imam, Hadji Hamet Suleymanov, is said to be more popular than Sheikh ul-Islam Pashazade. The mosque was investigated in January for a possible connection with the young Azerbaijanis who went on trial on charges of aspiring to fight as mercenaries in Chechnya. But the authorities decided against either closing it down or appointing another imam to replace Hadji Hamet, instead imposing restrictions on its activities and banning the sale there of religious literature. Well, I am so surprised. You could knock me over with a feather... The Abu-Bekr mosque is only one of an estimated 150 built in Azerbaijan since 1992 with funds from abroad. The independent newspaper "Ekho" reported on 16 February that over that period the Turkish government has financed construction of eight new mosques and the reconstruction or repair of two more. The total number of registered functioning mosques, according to State Committee for Religious Affairs Chairman Rafik Aliev, is around 1,300. Nice of folks outside the country to be that concerned with the religious life of a nation. It's all for the most altruistic reasons, of course. Aliev said there are up to 2,000 unregistered religious organizations in Azerbaijan... He also said 22 unregistered and Iranian-funded medreses (religious schools) that had been operating for six-seven years have been closed down because the course of instruction they offered was deemed unacceptable by the Azerbaijani government... In the course of that TV interview, Aliev also admitted that his committee is concerned at the sums of money being channeled into religious activities. He pointed out that not all the funds earmarked by foreign organizations for the construction or repair of mosques are actually used for that purpose, adding that his committee is trying to establish how the remainder is used. "Sure, I'd be happy to educate your kids for you. Would you like me to hold your wallet, too?" great citation, showing two major weakness of the Western press This is definitely Culture Clash Country. With the Soviet breakup the Turks see a vast expanse of Turkic-speaking cousins and no reason not to coalesce into a Greater Turkistan. The Russers see the Caucasus and Transcaucasus as their sphere of influence because of all the red stars still hanging in city halls. The Iranians remember the good ol' Persian days, when the Armenians and Georgians (and Circassians and Svans and Avars and such) were buffer states between their Seat of All Power and the Byzantine Seat of All Power. Add the Sufi-Shiite split - and the fact that the indigenous flavors of Islam are in many cases neither fish nor fowl - and the Great Game could come out looking like checkers. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |