6. Constructing a Qur’an-Based sīra in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan

Elnura Azizova introduces the Qur’an translations that have been produced in Azerbaijan in the Azerbaijani language since 1991. The country's religious, cultural, and geographical heterogeneity is reflected in the diverse translation strategies, particularly influenced by the Soviet legacy of the Orientalist tradition, as well as Turkey and Iran. Azizova focuses on the biography of the Prophet (sīra) to demonstrate the differing treatments of a number of verses connected to the Prophet’s biography, depending on whether the translations are addressed to Sunni or Twelver Shia Muslims, or both. She argues that Qur’an translations in post-Soviet Azerbaijan provide readers with examples of Prophetic sīras that offer similar general chronologies but have different focal points when it comes to the image they convey of the Prophet and his Companions, as well as the episodes of his life that they reference. These divergences stem from differences in the individual translators’ religio-cultural backgrounds, the official perception of Islam espoused in state-supporting institutional translations, and the need to meet the expectations of the target audience.