Khalidi-mahmoudi part of naqshibandiyya in Azerbaijan

In the beginnings of nineteenth century, Ismail Shirvānī Kurdamirī, who is one of the followers of Mawlānā Khālid el-Bagdādī is the first murshid of Khalidiyya in Caucaisons, which is a branch of Naqshibandiyya rapidly spread in Azerbaijan and Dagestan. As a result of his conducting activities in Azerbaijan (Shirvan) and Dagestan many sufis and murshids came in sight in the region. In later periods as a result of activities of Kurdamirī's khalīfah some Naqshibandī branches have appeared in the region. In this study after the 19th centry, the process of the expansion of the Naqshibadiyya in Azerbaijan and its important murshids were discussed. The life, sufic views, and caliphs of Almalılı Mahmūd Efendi who had caused the sect to be called "Mahmūdiyya" and the subsequent followers of Mahmudī tarikat were examined. The social, cultural and religious effects of the Sufic civilization established by Naqshibendiyya in Azerbaijan was emphasized. The "Muridism" movement initiated by the Caucasian peoples against the Russians was discussed from a Sufic perspective and the character that the Naqshibandis brought to this movement was questioned.