Orientalists believe blood feud atypical for modern Azerbaijan

In the past, the practice of blood feud was widespread among Azerbaijanis, but for the modern country it is an atypical phenomenon, Orientalists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 17, during a shooting at a market in the village of Beyuk Kesik in the Agstafa District, four persons were killed, and three others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.

The blood feud tradition dates back to pre-Islamic times, Tofig Tyurkel, a religion observer of the "Turan" News Agency and a researcher of the history of Azerbaijani religion, told the Caucasian Knot correspondent on August 3.

According to his story, for modern Azerbaijan, blood feud is not typical, and facts of using this tradition are rare.

"They are rather rudiments of the past, which are manifested in conservative rural communities," said Mr Tyurkel.

In his opinion, the struggle against such prejudices and remnants of the past like the blood feud, early marriages, a ban imposed on girls to go to school and others, should be held, on the one hand, by educating and increasing the population's awareness, and on the other hand, by tougher penalties for violating the laws of the secular state.

In Azerbaijan, the blood feud tradition was widespread, as in many other countries, back during the emergence of early human societies, Zardusht Alizade, an Orientalist-Arabist, has noted, adding that "after the revolution in 1920-30s, the tradition of blood feud came to naught."

Mr Alizade does not treat individual cases of blood feud killings as a revival of this tradition in its classical form.

"These are rather consequences of the corrupted judicial system than the revival of blood feud in its classical form. They fail to impose adequate punishments for killings; and some believe that they themselves must 'restore justice'," he said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 4, 2019 at 02:55 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.