Seeing Ilham Aliyev swap his usual suit and tie with white robes for a pilgrimage to Mecca this April was rather surprising. After all, Aliyev, the president of energy rich Azerbaijan and a child of Soviet era, with his glamour conscious wife and daughters, is rarely seen observing religious traditions—let alone travelling to Mecca to visit the Kaaba, the holiest of sights in Islam.
Ilham Aliyev prepares to visit the Kaaba at Mecca's Grand Mosque, Saudi Arabia. Photograph courtesy of www.president.az.This visit to Mecca by the ruling family was preceded by the opening of Baku's new Heydar Mosque in December 2014. (It remains closed to ordinary visitors.) The president's sudden interest in religion raises a number of questions. Is this a reflection of Islam becoming something more than just a symbol of ethnic belonging, in a country where religion was suppressed for over 70 years? Or, as in many countries around the world, is Islam turning into just another tool to consolidate the ruling power and win the hearts and minds of more religious segments of society? (The third theory: the government is developing its own national version of Islam.)
Whatever the outcome, religious sentiments are undoubtedly on the rise in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's Muslims belong to various denominations—roughly 85 per cent Shia and 15 per cent Sunni, as well as a significant group of Azerbaijanis who describe themselves simply as 'Muslims', complying with very few religious regulations. Poor economic conditions, endemic corruption and the vacuum of other missing ideological alternatives leave Azerbaijanis with nowhere else to turn for hope—save religion.
