Independence with the dislocation of the USSR, Azerbaijan is part of these six so-called Muslim Soviet republics because of their historical affiliation to Arab-Islamic civilisation and their self-identification with the Muslim world. However, in this seemingly homogeneous whole, a country occupies a separate place. Located in the confines of three Empires, Russian, Ottoman and Iranian who fought throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Azerbaijan is the only former Soviet Republic to be predominantly Shia, while all ex-USSR Muslims traditionally identify themselves with Sunni Islam. 96.9 % of the population is Muslim, of which about 75 % are Shiites. Secondly, Azerbaijan is a multi-faith and multi-ethnic country that loses its ancient tradition of religious tolerance. And thirdly, since independence, he has called for a strong commitment to secularism, inherited from Soviet experience. Tolerance and secularism are therefore politically instrumentalised and used and abused by leaders for both domestic and external political purposes.