Islamic discourses in Azerbaijan: the securitization of ‘non-traditional religious movements’

This article captures the dynamics of the securitization process through which new Islamic movements were constructed as an existential threat in Azerbaijan. After mapping out various competing discourses on Islam that emerged in the post-independence period, I discuss, using insights from the post-structuralist approach to securitization theory, the process of securitization of these movements. First I discuss the construction, by the hegemonic discourses, of a uniform identity category of ‘non-traditional religious movements’, and representation of otherwise different religious groups and organizations within this much stigmatized category. Later I show how the movements were constituted as an existential threat to national security and national identity through forging chains of associations between these groups and instability, chaos, social degeneration and terror. In the final section, I show how the securitizing discourse found expressions in emergency measures that were designed to deal with the movements and confirm their identity as dangerous other.