Qafqaz Muslims: from Cooperation with Iran to Opposition to Russia

Qafqaz region is featured by distinctive properties such as the variety of population, the importance of political geography and cultural relationships is of two effective religious groups namely semi-eastern Muslims and semi-western Christians. The followers of these two religions in time of supremacy of native governors were in collaboration with each other with no tension and rigidity. However, this communication led to the opposition after entrance of the foreign and anti-eastern element namely westernized Russia. This research tries to answer the question of which political element made the coexistence and interaction between religions and cultures in Qafqaz of Islamic era change into opposition between religions and ethnicities. The historical investigation on the trend of religious and social changes reveals that the policy of anti-Islamism and obligatory Russianization targeting Muslims in a fictional identity during the three- hundred domination of Russians on Qafqaz, made their social interaction change into an opposition with Christians and they also lost their religious and cultural unity with the world of Islam. However, Iran had previously collected Muslims and non-Muslims of Qafqaz in a united community through religious tolerance.