Azerbaijanis in the United Kingdom or Azerbaijani Britons are a small

Azerbaijani diaspora The Azerbaijani diaspora are the communities of Azerbaijanis living outside the places of their ethnic origin: Azerbaijan and the Iranian region of Azerbaijan. The total number of the Azerbaijani diaspora varies by sources, however, at least 5� ...

in the United Kingdom, including British citizens and permanent residents of ethnic Azerbaijani background.

History

According to the

Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russi ...

's state diaspora committee, Azerbaijani migration to Britain started in the late 19th century. The diaspora consists of Azerbaijanis from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, but also

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, Georgia, Central Asia and Russia. In 2014 Azerbaijani oligarchs were amongst the top investors in the London property market, having together with Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakhstani and Georgian oligarchs purchased over £2bn of luxury residential property in London in the previous two years. In May 2014, Murad Gassanly became first British-Azerbaijani win elected office, becoming

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

, representing the Labour Party. In 2019, he joined the Conservative Party.

Demographics

According to 2013

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

estimates based on the

Labour Force Survey Labour Force Surveys are statistical surveys conducted in a number of countries designed to capture data about the labour market. All European Union member states are required to conduct a Labour Force Survey annually. Labour Force Surveys are als ...

, there are around 6,220 Azerbaijani-born residents of the UK. Note that the source states: "Estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a margin of uncertainty. They should therefore be treated with caution". Most British Azerbaijanis are concentrated in London.

Culture

As of 2008, there is Azerbaijan House Culture and Friendship Centre functioning in London.

Arts and entertainment

A number of Azerbaijani art exhibitions have been held in the UK. Works by acclaimed Azerbaijani artists were displayed at an exhibition in London's

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

art auction. Numerous Azerbaijani musicians have been successful in British pop culture. In 2014,

Elyar Fox Elyar Afshari (; born 15 July 1995), known mononymously as Elyar (previously Elyar Fox) is a British-Azerbaijani pop singer. His debut single " Do It All Over Again" was released in January 2014, peaking at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart. E ...

became most successful British Azerbaijani in

British Music Throughout the history of the British Isles, the land that is now the United Kingdom has been a major music producer, drawing inspiration from church music and traditional folk music, using instruments from England, Scotland, Northern Irelan ...

as his song Do It All Over Again reached number 5th spot in UK Singles Chart.

Sami Yusuf Sami Yusuf (born 21 July 1980) is an Iranian-British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer of Azerbaijani descent. He gained international attention with the release of his debut album, ''Al-Muʽallim'', in 2003. As of 2020, ...

is another notable performer. Yusuf gained considerable recognition especially in the Islamic World following the release of his second album, '' My Ummah'', in July 2005.

Celebrations

Significant Azerbaijani events or celebrations are celebrated by the community annually. The

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

is a celebration of the

Persian New Year Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ethnicities world ...

, celebrated by the Azerbaijani community every year. The

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...

of Azerbaijan on 28 May is also celebrated by local communities. British Azerbaijanis gather in multiple towns and cities every year on 26 February for the recognition of the

Khojaly massacre The Khojaly massacre (, ) was the mass killing of Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces and the 366th CIS regiment in the town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992. The event became the largest single massacre throughout the entire Nagorno-Ka ...

. The largest of such gatherings occurs in the London area.

Cuisine

Azerbaijani cuisine Azerbaijani cuisine () is the cooking styles and dishes of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan (Iran), Iranian Azerbaijan. The cuisine is influenced by the country's diversity of agriculture, from abundant grasslands which hist ...

is popular among British Azerbaijanis. A number of restaurants function in the London area and other locations with high concentration of British Azerbaijanis.

Religion

The vast majority of the Azerbaijani community are

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s, whilst the remaining people generally do not have any religious affiliation. Some British Azerbaijanis worship at the

East London Mosque The East London Mosque (ELM) is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between Whitechapel and Aldgate East. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, it is one of the largest mosques in Western Europe accomm ...

, the largest

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

mosque in the UK.

Media

Daughter of President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

Leyla Aliyeva Leyla Ilham gizi Aliyeva (, born 3 July 1984) is an Azerbaijani politician who is a member of Azerbaijan's ruling Aliyev family, as the daughter of the current president, Ilham Aliyev, and granddaughter of the former president, Heydar Aliyev. A ...

launched the Baku magazine in London in 2011.

Sports

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

is widely followed and played by many young British Azerbaijanis. As of 2008, Baku United futsal club founded by the Odlar Yurdu Organisation and currently participating in

FA National Futsal League The National Futsal League is the third futsal league in England. Founded in 2008, it is a community interest company owned and controlled by its member clubs and administered by an annually elected board of directors. The FA National Futsal Supe ...

. The team celebrated their first title in 2013 by becoming league champions. It also become the first English club to play in the main round of

UEFA Futsal Cup The UEFA Futsal Champions League is an annual futsal competition for European club teams organized by UEFA. It was founded as the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2001 and replaced the Futsal European Clubs Championship, an unofficial competition held since 1 ...

British Azerbaijanis

Notes

{{Portal bar, Azerbaijan, United Kingdom * *