By Dr. Rufat Sattarov, Institut für Turkologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, 16 February 2011, 18.00.

Institute of Turkology at the Freie Universität Berlin would like to invite you to the presentation of the book “Islam, State, and Society in Independent Azerbaijan. Between Historical Legacy and Post-Soviet Reality” by Dr. Rufat Sattarov (Berlin).

The dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991 and the appearance of new independent states in its place resulted in dramatic changes in geopolitics. Because of its strategic importance, Azerbaijan emerged as one of the new spheres of the world community’s interests. Moreover, the historical legacy of Azerbaijan as a part of the Great Silk Road as well as a meeting point of western and eastern cultures makes it a very attractive object of research. Finally, the essentially moderate Islamic framework in Azerbaijan and its unique character as the only country throughout the post-Soviet space in which a major part of the population belong to Shi’a Islam distinguish it from other Muslim republics of the former USSR.  The main focus of investigation of this book is the way in which interaction between Islam, state and society took place in Azerbaijan in the unique historical-cultural and socio-political contexts.

Presentation of the book and the following discussion will take place on Wednesday, 16 February 2011 at the Library of the Instititute of Turkology, Freie Universität Berlin, Address: Schwendenerstr. 33, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem.