Hawzah News Agency- Speakers included Dr. Saeed Tavoosi, professor of Shia history at Allameh Tabatabai University; Dr. Moulaei, faculty member in the Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology at Allameh Tabatabai University; Dr. Habibullah Asadollahi, director of the TIAM Monitoring Center; and Dr. Abdolalizadeh, who addressed regional developments and the state of "Cultural Iran."
Historical Background: Shia Islam's Deep Roots in Azerbaijan
Dr. Tavoosi opened the seminar by addressing recent events in Azerbaijan and the hijab issue in schools, outlining the history of Shia Islam in the region, its formation and expansion, and the restrictions Shia and Muslim communities faced across different periods.
Referring to the region's historical names — Aran, Arran, and Shirvan — he noted that the southern parts were known as Aran and the northern areas as Shirvan. The region joined the Islamic world in the early Islamic period and was considered significant during the time of Imam Ali (AS).
Tavoosi noted that the region was predominantly Sunni at first, with Shia currents emerging before the rise of the Safavid state. Sheikh Junayd, grandfather of Shah Ismail Safavi, was active in the region, held Shia leanings, and was ultimately killed there by its ruler.
He described the expansion of Shiism as accelerating during the Safavid era, particularly after Shah Ismail's rise and the capture of Baku. Under Shah Abbas, Iran's rule over the region was consolidated, and Shiism gradually became an important part of the historical and social identity of cities such as Shamakhi, Derbent, Lankaran, and Baku.
Citing population figures, Tavoosi said that according to some statistics, Shias make up about 75 percent of Azerbaijan's roughly 10 million people, with Sunnis comprising another portion of the Muslim population.
Shiism in Travelogues and Historical Works
To illustrate the place of Shiism in the region, Tavoosi cited reports by travelers and Orientalists, including "The Tragedy of the Islamic World" by Mohsen Hesam Mazaheri, which compiles accounts of Shia mourning rituals across different periods.
He referenced Adam Olearius, who in 1638, during Shah Abbas's reign, depicted the people of Shamakhi mourning for Imam Ali (AS). According to Tavoosi, the image still exists and serves as historical evidence of Shia rituals in the region.
He also named Derbent as one of the ancient cities and important Shia centers in the Caucasus, citing structures and shrines such as the Shah Abbas Mosque, the Imamzadeh Ibrahim in Ganja, and Bibi-Rahimah Khatun as manifestations of the region's Shia identity.
Historical Restrictions and Pressure on Shias
Tavoosi identified the separation of the territories north of the Aras River from Iran following the Iran-Russia wars as a turning point in the history of the region's Shias. After the separation, the Shia population came under Russian rule and experienced numerous pressures, with some scholarly and religious families migrating to Iran.
He described widespread restrictions on religious activity under Russian and then Soviet rule, citing statistics and reports indicating the closure and destruction of numerous mosques, the execution of clerics, and bans on Islamic education and religious ceremonies during the Soviet period.
He also noted the destruction of some shrines during the communist era and their reconstruction after the Soviet collapse, naming Haji Ali Akram Aliyev, a religious figure from Nardaran, as someone who played a role in defending Shiism and religious activity.
Despite these pressures, Tavoosi said, the cultural and religious ties between the people of Azerbaijan and Iran have persisted — as seen in the public reaction to the martyrdom of Martyr Bakeri and other historical and social examples.
Tavoosi criticized the neglect of Azerbaijan's cultural and religious capacities, saying that alongside linguistic and cultural commonalities, religious ties could provide a basis for broader relations between Iran and the people of Azerbaijan.
Hijab Restrictions Part of a Social Engineering Process
Mehmet Çeleng, professor of the history of Islamic sects at the Faculty of Theology at Uludağ University in Bursa, Turkey, addressed the seminar via video message.
Referring to recent developments in Azerbaijan and the ban on the hijab in public schools, he described the issue as more than a restriction on dress — part of a long-term process to change the country's social structure.
Çeleng noted reactions in Turkey, Iran, and other Islamic countries, as well as opposition from segments of the Azerbaijani public and religious community, saying he believes a longer-term plan lies behind the decision and that the hijab restriction is one stage of social engineering in Azerbaijan.
Criticizing the continued concentration of power in the Aliyev family, he said the rulers' greatest concern is the natural growth of religious awareness in society — among Shias and Sunnis alike, whether influenced by Iran and Turkey or developing on its own. The main issue for the authorities, he said, is the increased visibility of religion in the public sphere, which could challenge the Aliyev family's political position in the long term.
Çeleng described restrictions on political activity and the treatment of opponents in Azerbaijan, adding that under such conditions the hijab restriction should be seen as a tool in a social engineering process aimed at distancing society from religious influences, both Shia and Sunni and from Iran and Turkey.
He said normalizing Azerbaijan's social and regional relations requires expanding the country's ties with the Islamic world and the Turkic world, arguing that progress is impossible without normal social relations and broader links to Islamic countries. Limiting relations to frameworks set by the authorities, he said, will hinder the country's growth and restrict public access to resources and opportunities.
Analyzing the background to the current situation, Çeleng cited the recapture of Karabakh and the return of occupied territories, which he said brought Ilham Aliyev domestic popularity. Aliyev's ties with Israel and Western countries, and his balancing of relations with Russia, have also bolstered his political and family position, he added.
Çeleng also discussed Turkey's role in regional developments, describing some of its actions as a source of tension and erosion in relations with Azerbaijan. He further claimed that the US and Israel are seeking to create a new structure in the Caucasus and have assigned Ilham Aliyev a role in it.
Criticizing the state of civil society and political freedoms in Azerbaijan, he said the absence of civil society, restrictions on political activity and opponents, and the lack of freedom of expression have constrained ordinary citizens' lives. While the Aliyev family's position grows stronger, he said, public access to economic opportunities and resources becomes more limited.
Çeleng expressed hope that the situation will change and that the people of Azerbaijan will not remain indifferent. He called on Turkey, Iran, other Islamic countries, and civilized nations to oppose the trends he criticized through peaceful and civilized means and to help restore more normal social and regional relations.
Three Levels of Analysis
Dr. Moulaei, noting the cultural and historical commonalities between the people of Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan, argued that understanding religious developments and the hijab issue requires a multi-level framework.
He identified three levels — national, regional, and global — explaining that the hijab issue and disputes over religious identity cannot be examined solely within Azerbaijan's domestic policies but must also account for developments in the Caucasus and Central Asia and global cultural trends.
Moulaei identified three active social forces in Azerbaijan: ethnic Azerbaijani nationalism, the legacy of leftist and Marxist thought, and religion, particularly Shiism.
He described ethnic Azerbaijani nationalism as one factor shaping the country's social and cultural equations, alongside the long history of Soviet rule and the influence of Marxist thought. After the region's separation from Iran during the Iran-Russia wars, it came under Tsarist Russian rule and then, from 1920, joined the Soviet Union, during which leftist thought and its cultural models spread through Azerbaijani society.
Noting the influence of Iran's proximity to the Soviet Union on the spread of leftist ideas into Iran, he recalled that the scholarly work of figures such as Allameh Tabatabai and Morteza Motahhari took shape partly in response to these intellectual currents.
Moulaei named religion as the third force, emphasizing that it remains an active social force in Azerbaijan despite the presence of anti-religious currents.
Soviet Legacy and the Weakening of Religious and Ethnic Identity
Moulaei described Soviet policies as simultaneously weakening the religious and national identities of various ethnic groups. To create a shared identity among the republics, the Soviet government sought to limit ethnic nationalism and religious affiliation and place them under the umbrella of the central government's desired identity, he said.
These policies, along with the spread of Marxist thought, had long-term effects on the region's religious practice, he said, arguing that the current state of religiosity in Azerbaijan must be understood in light of this history.
Moulaei said differences in the religious practice of Azerbaijani Shias compared with Iranian Shias are not necessarily a sign of weak religiosity. People who lived for decades under pressure from an anti-religious government had a different experience of preserving religious identity and transmitting rituals to later generations, he said.
"When you are engaged in resistance and a broad front is attacking you, you cannot expect no disorder on that front," he said, arguing that some irregularities in Azerbaijani religious life should be understood in the historical context of resistance to preserve religious identity and Shia rituals.
Regional Developments and the Growing Role of Shia Currents
At the regional level, Moulaei said the position of Shia currents has changed over recent decades. Shiism, once marginalized in some regional societies, has gradually become an influential force in political and social developments.
He cited Lebanon and the social and political role of its Shias as an example, saying the expansion of political Islam has also created grounds for greater connection and interaction between Shia and Sunni currents.
Noting the geopolitical importance of West Asia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, Moulaei identified energy resources and strategic location as factors drawing global powers' attention. He said Azerbaijan's cultural developments and the hijab issue should be examined in connection with these regional trends, adding that Western powers' presence and influence in these regions is not limited to economic and political relations but has cultural dimensions as well.
Cultural Globalization and the Hijab Dispute
At the global level, Moulaei discussed cultural globalization, saying late capitalism spreads a cultural model worldwide that takes different forms in different societies according to local conditions.
Referring to cultural and dress changes in various countries, he said some hijab-related developments in Iran and Azerbaijan should be examined within these global trends. Cultural globalization can lead to the homogenization of cultures and the weakening of local patterns, he said, citing changing dress patterns in countries such as India and the presence of the hijab in major world cities as examples.
Moulaei noted differences in how the hijab issue is framed in different countries: in Azerbaijan it has taken the form of a school ban, while other countries have imposed restrictions on various types of dress.
Citing Peter Berger's work on secularization, including "The Desecularization of the World," he said that contrary to the assumption that secularization is always expanding, the trend has encountered changes in Western societies. He stressed that hijab-related developments in Azerbaijan must also be examined within broader cultural and social trends.
In conclusion, Moulaei emphasized that religious developments and the hijab issue in Azerbaijan result from the simultaneous influence of national, regional, and global factors and cannot be explained solely by examining the country's domestic policies.
Need for Field and Phenomenological Research
Dr. Habibullah Asadollahi, director of the TIAM Monitoring Center, noted his center's cultural research and field studies on the hijab in Iran, stressing the need for careful examination of the contexts in which social phenomena emerge.
He identified the separation of hijab from religiosity as a key point in studying the issue, saying one cannot judge a person's religiosity solely by their dress. A person may deviate from expected dress norms while adhering to beliefs and rituals in other aspects of life, just as wearing the hijab alone does not indicate full commitment to all dimensions of religion, he said.
Asadollahi stressed that understanding a social phenomenon requires independently examining its formative contexts rather than attributing all its causes to external factors.
Referring to the hijab issue in Azerbaijan, he raised questions about how people respond to restrictive laws and what behaviors they exhibit. If the social conditions necessary for a law's acceptance do not exist, its enforcement may provoke reactions, he said, adding that phenomenological studies of the hijab and people's lived experience could help clarify the issue.
Cultural Iran and the Role of Foreign Actors
Dr. Abdolalizadeh, a media expert, addressed the historical and cultural ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, placing the country's developments within the broader geography of "Cultural Iran."
Stressing that Azerbaijan's developments should not be viewed in isolation from events in other regions tied to Cultural Iran, he cited Tajikistan as an example and criticized the neglect of the region's cultural and historical capacities.
Abdolalizadeh raised the role of foreign powers in the region's historical and cultural developments, stressing the need to examine the record of external intervention and influence. He called for closer examination of historical events, including book burnings and political developments in various regions, from the perspective of the forces involved.
Referring to psychological and cultural operations in different countries, he said certain influence patterns and political and media scenarios may recur in different geographies, and understanding these trends requires attention to the civilizational and historical dimensions of developments.
In closing, Abdolalizadeh cited the place of spirituality in Iranian history and culture and stressed the need to recognize Iran's civilizational capacities. "Today's young person asks why we should confront America," he said. "They do not know that Iranian civilization has always confronted oppression and oppressors throughout human history."
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