I can still remember the first time that I heard the passionate, extemporaneous, and initially jarring staccato sounds that are characteristic of Mugham music, the traditional music genre of Azerbaijan, Central Asia and surrounding regions. The force, emotion, and vocal command demanded by this art form was exceptionally powerful. As I came to learn over my two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan, Alim Qasimov and his daughter Fargana Qasimova are widely regarded as among the best Mughamist in the world. As such, when I heard that they were performing with the highly acclaimed Kronos Quartet at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, I was determined to be in attendance. Fortunately I was the winner of a Karabakh Foundation raffle for two tickets to the concert and thus I was able to attend. For those who enjoy Mugham, the performance was an affirmation of the beauty and intensity that it conveys. For those unfamiliar with this music style, the Alim Qasimov Ensemble provided an unparalleled introduction.

Following a beautiful melodic opening set by the Kronos Quartet, Alim Qasimov and his ensemble began to play and didn’t stop until the end of the first act. The piece flowed like a gradual ascent revealing more about the artists as the music slowly progressed from the structure of premeditated lyrics to the deeply moving improvisational solos. As the music wove in and out of the structure loosely built around it, the improvisation took on the form of conversation between Alim and Fargana as they alternated solos, each seeming to express deep inner struggle in beautiful, albeit heart-wrenching, vocal riffs. The power of this musical style is revealed not only in the musical sophistication and passion with which it is sung, but by the physical performance of the artists. As Fargana completed her segment, Alim’s body seemed to convulse with the sudden onset of musical inspiration. Left hand resting gently by his left ear, his right arm flew into the sky and head flung backward as the music rushed out of his body and flooded the concert hall. Over the course of his lyrical appeal, his right arm, palm facing up, yearningly shook horizontally in the ubiquitous Azerbaijani motion symbolizing inquiry and questioning.

“Almighty, why did you make my life so miserable?

Why did I make such a mistake and fall in love with you?”

I sat in my seat gripped by the realization that I was witnessing something incredibly raw and personal. The duo sang not only with intensity and depth, but with an immense amount of joy. It was a privilege to watch this rare combination of mastery and love for an art form – the interplay of which permeated the entirety of their performance.

In the second act, the Alim Qasimov Ensemble was joined by the Kronos Quartet producing a full and complimentary fusion of sound and musical tradition. I left the concert hall that night feeling uplifted, emotionally drained, and awestruck. The experience of witnessing the rare talent of Alim Qasimov and his ensemble is one that I would unequivocally recommend to anyone. It is a window into the culture of Azerbaijan, an example of the universality of music, and a glimpse into the soul of a truly exceptional artist.

Post written by Jonathan Elkin, an Analyst at Fontheim International 

I joined the Peace Corps, and in September of 2009 I was sent to Azerbaijan. I had a couple months to prepare for my 27 months service, but I was a procrastinator and never seemed to worry about my future. I was prepared for Azerbaijan, but in truth who could have been? As it’s a place you need to visit to understand. I spent my first three months living in Sumguayit, a city outside Baku. I spent those four months learning Azerbaijani and training to become a Youth Development Volunteer. On December 10th I moved to Goranboy, Azerbaijan. Goranboy is a five hour bus ride west from Baku and 45 minutes from Ganja. Goranboy is not known for anything in particular and is even called ‘unremarkable’ by various travel books on Azerbaijan. The research I did about Goranboy before my arrival asking my Azerbaijani family and friends brought up comments like ‘Oh no, you can’t go there! There is nothing there!’, ‘It will be very hot in the summer’, and ‘It is dangerous there, there are many soldiers’. Needless to say I was nervous about Goranboy, the place I was to call home for the next two years.

I arrived in Goranboy and first noticed how clean it seemed compared to my previous home, Sumguayit. Goranboy was much more spacious; the public buildings were brand new, the schools were brightly painted, there was only one building more than two stories. I was a foreigner in Goranboy, but did not feel like one for long. Goranboy’s size and the attitude of the people allowed for my to feel like part of the community. Students referred to me as teacher, friends called me sister, neighbors called me daughter, I became part of a family that is Goranboy.

Goranboy changed while I was there, a town without traffic lights had two by the time I left more over the population of the city expanded with new Internally Displaced Persons housing, and a sports center with an indoor swimming pool was established.

I lived in Goranboy with another Peace Corps Volunteer, Amy King. She and I were each other’s salvation because although we both loved Azerbaijan it was nice to come home and make American meals from time to time and speak English. We also opened our home to friends; my fondest memories are when kids would stop by and ask to borrow softball equipment for the afternoon or when a neighbor would ask for sugar. My favorite night in Goranboy was when my co-workers came over for a pizza party. My co-workers were hesitant to let me make the pizza because they were convinced I did not know how to cook, but I was certain that if they made the pizza the sauce would be ketchup and mayonnaise. They ended up enjoying the pizza and we spent the night gossiping and dancing to Michael Jackson. People in Azerbaijan are fun, outgoing, and opinionated but in public they are often shy and afraid to be noticed. Nonetheless by the end of the night we had made up our own dance to ‘Thriller’ and taken dozens of pictures dressing up in various outfits. My relationship with my Azerbaijani friends was different than my relationships with my American friends but in no way was it better or worse. I learned that friendship’s can be found anywhere; cultural and religious differences are not a hindrance but can be helpful in forming relationships.

On November 19th 2011, I left Goranboy but not forever. I hope to go back to see the growth of Goranboy. I imagine that Goranboy will continue to develop with new opportunities for the people. As opportunities continue to expand, others too will see Goranboy as I do, that is quite remarkable place with wonderful, caring and striving people.

Post written by Katherine Knisley, a recently Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who came to the Karabakh Foundation for “Take an RPCV to Work Day”

The overwhelming propensity of the population of Azerbaijan is Muslim. This is one of the world religions, which was founded by the prophet Muhammad in 610 when he received the first revelation from God through Archangel Gabriel at the age of 40. He was receiving these revelations for the remainder of his life. He narrated the Divine commandments to his associates who remembered them by heart. All the divine revelations had poetic form and were gathered together in the Holy Qur’an the sacred book for all Muslims. The majority of the text in the Holy Qur’an is a dispute in form of dialog between Allah and opponents of the Prophet. Special attention is also given to the appeals of Allah with directions and instructions to the followers of Islam. There are five so called pillars of the faith: 1. Ash-shahada – A statement of the main formula of faith: “I attest that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.” 2. As-salah – Ritual prayer carried out five times a day. Muslim must clean themselves with a special ablution ritual is being carried out. 3. Az-zeket – Donation, which should be given by each Muslim according to his income. 4. As-saum – Fast in the month of Ramadan by the lunar calendar. 5. Al-hadj – Pilgrimage to Mecca, which should be carried out at least once in the lifetime of every Muslim.

Islam gives a clear concept of Allah, as for a Muslim Allah here is unlimited in time and space and omnipresent. Islamic tenets state: He created different intelligent essences as well as this world together with other worlds, He is not born and He does not bear, His form is beyond human comprehension, He is omniscient and omnipresent.

After Muhammad’s death his associates began company of conquest and spreading of Islam. At first Arabs under the command of Hudayfa Ibn al-Yamdu, invaded the south part of Azerbaijan in 637 CE. The ruler of Caucasian Albania at that time Javanshir was offering stiffer resistance than others, but upon his death the Albanian principality ceased existing. By 652 CE, the Arabs reached as far as Derbent in present Dagestan, Russia. Having conquered Azerbaijan Arabs started to spread Islam. All inhabitants of Azerbaijan adopted Islam except those in the upper part of Karabakh.

There were many insurrections which were neutralized by the Caliphate’s troops. The longest and extensive one was the people’s liberation movement (Khurramits) lead by Babek in the end of 8th through the beginning of the 9th centuries. However, the movement was smashed in 837, leading to Babek’s execution. However, it should be mentioned that these insurrections were not necessarily anti-Islamic, but were rather anti-Caliphate in their nature.

Sufism – the mystic movement of Islam has always been popular in Azerbaijan. Sufism is widely present in medieval poetry and the classical Azerbaijani musical genre – (mugammat). This mystic and meditative art has rich traditions in Azerbaijani culture.Another important aspect of the history of Islam in Azerbaijan is spread of Shia branch of Islam due to establishment and strengthening of Safavi Empire in the 16th century. As a legacy of “Shiitization” of Islam now most of Azerbaijan’s Muslims follow this branch of Islam making Azerbaijan one of the few countries in the world with Shia majority population. Shiism has shaped Azerbaijan’s culture, traditions and intellectual development making it distinguished from the other Muslim countries of the region in different ways.

There were several stages in Soviet policies towards Islam. As Swietechowski (2002) points out, at first, state did not go beyond the actions under the motto of an overall modernization that included the expropriation of waqfs (charitable foundations), shutting down Islamic civil courts and schools, banning public religious ceremonies, closing down some mosques, and instituting the obligatory unveiling of women .

The fight against Islam and other religions started in the late 1920s. The change of alphabet from Arabic to Latin and then to Cyrillic quickly eliminated the influence of clerics and Muslim intellectuals as well as of religious literature upon the masses. Newly adopted legislative acts banned and established severe punishments for many practices that were common among population at that time and were related , directly or indirectly, to religion and traditions. Mass closing down of mosques also started and continued during 1930s. Many clerics were accused of Islamism, arrested, exiled or executed.

It was a time of real threat to the fate of Islam in Azerbaijan. But, as usual, it found its way to survive until better days come. Sweitochowski mentions in this regard: “With its rites no longer observed in public, Islam became privatized, confined to the family, the most conservative institution in Azerbaijan. The Soviet period witnessed a revival of the tradition of (taqiyya) apostasy under a threat, in its historic homeland.”

This pressure was loosened during the World War II, when the Soviet government tried to mobilize all possible forces to unite its people in the face of foreign intervention and war.As a result, despite the ideology of militant atheism there were allowed official “independent” Muslim religious administrations: the Muslim Religious Board for the European USSR and Siberia centered in Ufa, Bashkir ASSR; the Muslim Religious Board for Central Asia and Kazakhstan Tashkent, Uzbekistan; the Muslim Religious Board for the North Caucasus in Buinaksk; later in Makhachkala, Daghestan; and the Muslim Religious Board for Transcaucasia in Baku, Azerbaijan. The strongest position and hidden leadership were granted to the Muslim Religious Board for Central Asia and Kazakhstan, situated in Tashkent and mainly headed by Uzbek nationals. Existence of the same institutional structures for the various local Islamic traditions can be evaluated as a process of homogenization. These boards did not oppose the Soviet rule, and even tried to find similarities between Communist ideology and Islamic values, such as equality, freedom of religion, security of honorable work, ownership of land by those who cultivate it and others that were put in practice after the Bolshevik Revolution.

The Transcaucasus Muslim elite operated under different from other Soviet Muslim republics conditions. Aside from its jurisdiction over mostly Azerbaijani Muslims in Armenia and Georgia, the Baku religious board was staffed by Azerbaijanis and served an Azerbaijani community, thus the administration could be characterized as an Azerbaijani national institution. Before the independence, the number of educated clerics was very low and all those educated were graduates of the Islam University in Tashkent or the Mir Arab College in Bukhara (Swietochowski 2002) . In fact, there were no highly educated Islamic scholars who studied in known Islamic educational centers abroad.

At present, approximately 99.2% of the population of Azerbaijan is Muslim according to a 2009 Pew Research center report. The rest of the population adheres to other faiths or are non-religious, although they are not officially represented. Among the Muslim majority, religious observance varies and Muslim identity tends to be based more on culture and ethnicity rather than religion; however, many imams reported increased attendance at mosques during 2003. The Muslim population is approximately 85% Shia and 15% Sunni; differences traditionally have not been defined sharply. (Pew Research Center 2009) Most Shias are adherents of orthodox Ithna Ashari school – the largest branch of Shi’a Islam, adherents of which are commonly referred to as Twelvers, because of their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders (Imams). The Sunni in Azerbaijan follow the Shafii and Hanafi schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

Post written by Dr. Fuad Aliyev, a Fulbright Scholar at The Johns Hopkins University SAIS