Ethnic and religious diversity, national wealth of Azerbaijan

/AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

The International Conference on Strengthening Religious Tolerance, organized by the OSCE Project Coordinators in Baku, kicked off on November 17.

Representatives of various religious communities attend the event to exchange views on religious tolerance in the world.

Addressing the event, Head of the Caucasian Muslims Office Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade said members of different religious beliefs in Azerbaijan have always been an integral part of the society, receiving the same attention and care from the government.

"Cathedrals and synagogues are functioning along with the mosques in Azerbaijan. All religious beliefs get moral and financial aid from the government and mark their holidays here," he noted.

Pashazade added that the national and religious tolerance is promoted at a state level in multinational and multifaith Azerbaijan, as the government has managed to build a good relationship between the state and religion.

"Ethnic and religious diversity is the national wealth of our country. Democratic rights of the people, as well as the religious conscience in Azerbaijan are regulated and protected based on the legislation," he said.

Pashazade went on to say that Baku has turned into a traditional site to hold international events on intercultural and interreligious dialogue. He also noted that promotion of the tolerance in international arena is one of the priority directions of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Delivering his speech at the conference, Mubariz Gurbanli, Chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, offered the OSCE to hold annual competition for the most tolerant country and conduct research on this issue.

He said Azerbaijan would hold the first place in this contest, noting that the promotion of tolerance is one of the important challenges in today's world.

"Armed conflicts and wars are currently taking place in 30 countries of the world. About 12 of them started on religious grounds," he said.

Gurbanli added that it is necessary to strengthen the fight against radicalism and extremism within the religions themselves. He said multicultural regions need to have tolerance.

“It is necessary to spread tolerance in the world. Tolerance is also a moral imperative in Azerbaijan. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan underwent an aggression by Armenia, there is a building of an Armenian church in Baku.”

Azerbaijan is famous for its centuries-old traditions of interreligious cooperation and good neighborly relations, said Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, at the International Conference on Strengthening Religious Tolerance.

“Unfortunately, interreligious and interethnic peace is being tested for strength in recent months, as alarming news come from both Ukraine and the Middle East. The rights of Christians including the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church are grossly violated.”

Kirill believes that only a united position of the leading political and spiritual leaders can stop the escalation of conflicts on religious and ethnic grounds, which seriously threaten the stability in the world.

"Azerbaijan's experience in the field of religious tolerance can be used as an example for the world's other countries," said Alexis Shakhtakhtinski, OSCE Project Coordinator and Ambassador to Baku.

He noted that representatives of the numerous religious and ethnic groups live in conditions of mutual respect in Azerbaijan.

The ambassador said the religious factor was used to reach the political goals and it was important to prevent violations and religious phobias in the world. "These problems are topical in the whole world, as well as in the OSCE space. Only by a concerted effort we can prevent it,” he noted.

Located between Asia and Europe, Azerbaijan is a unique place to keep the Eastern and Western values alive, peacefully host the members of the world's various religions and harmonically embrace the values and traditions of different cultures. Azerbaijan hosted a number of international events aimed at promoting the dialogue among civilizations and enhancing understanding among different religions, faiths and cultures.