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Azeris and Muslim Ajarians in Georgia: The Swing between Tolerance and Alienation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2020

Alter Kahraman Open the ORCID record for Alter Kahraman [Opens in a new window]
Alter Kahraman*
Affiliation:
Political Science and International Relations, Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, Karaman, Turkey
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article focuses on two Muslim groups, Azeris and Muslim Ajarians, who are differently perceived and treated in post-Soviet Georgia. Georgian ethno-religious nationalism bases Georgianness on an ethnic affiliation to Kartvelian roots and religious adherence to Georgian Orthodoxy, and determines one’s level of inclusion in the nation accordingly; those who do not fulfill these criteria, such as Azeris, are excluded from the nation. Muslim Ajarians, despite being Georgians, also face exclusion from Georgian identity. Based on the concept of ethnodoxy, which is defined as linking of “a group’s ethnic identity to its dominant religion,” this article argues that Muslim Ajarians, who are Georgian Muslims, an unaccepted category in Georgia, receive differential treatment by their Christian fellows, whereas recognition of the religion and ethnicity of Azeris is a factor that comparatively diminishes the pressure on the community. This research demonstrates that the visibility of Muslim Ajarians’ religious practices in the public space and the construction of places of worship is less tolerated than in the case of Azeris, who have no means of becoming “proper Georgians.” The findings of fieldwork in Georgia manifested that, although minorities have various problems in Georgia, Muslim Ajarians are subjected to more differential treatment than Azeris.

Keywords

AzerisMuslim AjariansGeorgiaethnodoxy
Type
Article
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 49 , Issue 2: Special Issue on Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Identity, Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality by Law , March 2021 , pp. 308 - 325
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© Association for the Study of Nationalities 2020

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References

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Interviews

Interview with a Georgian expert on minorities from ECMI (NGO) in Tbilisi on May 25, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with a Georgian expert on minorities from EMC (NGO) in Tbilisi on December 1, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with a Georgian expert on religious issues in Tbilisi on December 2, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with a leading figure from the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia in Tbilisi on May 28, 2015 and on April 5, 2017.Google Scholar
Interview with a Georgian scholar at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in Tbilisi on May 26, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with a Georgian scholar at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in Tbilisi on May 27, 2015 and on April 3, 2017.Google Scholar
Interview with a member of the Civic Integration Foundation (NGO) in Tbilisi on April 7, 2017.Google Scholar
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Interview with an Ajarian businessman in Batumi on October 29, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an Ajarian religious leader in Tbilisi on May 26, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with one of the former muftis of Ajaria in Batumi on June 24, 2015 and on October 26, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with one of the former muftis of Ajaria in Batumi on June 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with a Muslim Ajarian student in Batumi on June 24, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with a Muslim Ajarian (NGO) expert in Batumi on October 28, 2015 and in Ankara on April 14, 2017.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri MP in Marneuli on December 2, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri NGO member in Marneuli on December 2, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri NGO member in Tbilisi on December 1, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri PhD Student in Tbilisi on April 6, 2017.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri Shi’ite religious leader in Tbilisi on April 6, 2017.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri Sunni man of religion in Tbilisi on April 6, 2017.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri Sunni religious leader in Tbilisi on May 26, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an Azeri Sheikh in Tbilisi on December 1, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an expert from the Council of National Minorities under the Public Defender of Georgia in Tbilisi on December 3, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an expert from the Tolerance Center under the Public Defender of Georgia in Tbilisi on May 28, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with an expert from Transparency International in Batumi on October 28, 2015.Google Scholar
Interview with a Human Rights Lawyer and a Georgian expert on religious minorities from Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI) in Tbilisi on April 4, 2017.Google Scholar