"National Identity and Politics: Dilemmas of Azerbaijan and Turkey," was the theme of today’s conference in business center "Caspian Plaza", organized by the Center for National and International Studies. According to Leyla Aliyeva, the head of this NGO, national identity and politics have serious interference. The process of searching national identity in two these countries is still important, she said.

The Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Jamil Hasanli told about the formation of the Azerbaijani state and national political identity in the 19-20 centuries. The idea of ​​identity occurred in Azerbaijan in the mid 19 Th century. Then that began the transition from the Islamic community to the Azeri-Turkic community. This trend is could be observed in the writings and activities of prominent scientists and thinkers Abbasgulu Aga Bakikhanov, Mirza Fatali Akhundov and Hasan Bey Zardabi.

Theme, language, and subject of Akhundov’s dramaturgy were purely Azeri. He described the events of everyday life and the realities of Azerbaijanis," said Hasanli.

Zardabi went even further. Realizing that without the national press Azerbaijanis will face backwardness and isolation from the world culture, he founded the first Azerbaijani newspaper Ekinchi in 1875. He also supported the establishment of secular education because of restricted knowledge got in the madrassa.

Ali bey Huseynzade Ahmed bey Agayev, Alimardan bey Topchubashov developed the ideas of ​​national identity, and Mamed Emin Rasulzade assembled disparate ideas into a single national ideology based on the idea that without independent state it is impossible to obtain national unanimity and provide development of people. The idea of ​​nation states has been realized in the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic in 1918-1920.

A professor of Ankara University Ilhan Uzgel told that Ataturk created a secular Turkish state which meets the requirements of Turkish intellectuals who supported the adoption of Western modernism and rationalism.

Common national identity throughout the 20-th century was resisted by the Islamic and ethnic identity in the face of Kurdish ationalism, and ideological identity (socialist orientation).

However, in early 1990 the situation changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, because the attractiveness of socialist ideas decreased, but the Islamists strengthened. This trend intensified particularly after the party of Justice and Development has come to power. The priority of Erdogan’s party is to return to the Ottoman identity. His supporters believe that the Turkey has focused on the model of Ataturk Turkey, but the progress of the country requires restoration of good relations with its former suburbs of the Ottoman Empire. It explains active policy of Erdogan government in the Middle East.

There are some forces in the Turkish business and politics which support active integration of Turkey into the global world economy and politics.

Regarding the situation in modern-day Azerbaijan, the Doctor of Philosophy, professor, philosopher Ali Abbasov, said that the current oil strategy "has not cause the interest in the development of national identity of forces in Azerbaijan and outside it." Abbasov noted the rise of those who identify themselves as representatives of the Muslim community lately. He believes that Azerbaijan can have different socio-cultural models of the state. One of them can be based on a triune formula of the founders of APP "Turkization, Islamization, modernization." Another variant could be a model of many Western states, based on the political unity of the citizens, instead of unity on the basis of an ethnic community, the expert said.

Direct link to the article