Terrorism has nothing to do with religion: ISESCO director
By Nigar Orujova
Circles spreading the wrong idea about Islam in the world should be dealt with.
Director General of ISESCO Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri made the remark while addressing the 36th session of the Executive Council of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Baku on November 23.
“We must show the world that Islam is a peaceful religion, contribute to a correct understanding of the essence of Islam by the world. We must also show that we can contribute to the prevention of extremism and terrorism in the world,” he said.
Altwaijri stressed the importance of activating the role of the member states in the implementation of the targeted tasks.
Speaking about conflicts in Muslim countries, he pointed out that ISESCO is to support people who have lost possibility to get an education as a result of the conflict.
Islam is not responsible for terrorist acts that criminals are carrying out, Altwaijri told reporters in Baku on the sidelines of the event.
“Criminality is not related to any religion or culture,” Altwaijri said. “There are criminals and terrorists in all cultures and in all societies. We cannot attribute the crimes that are carried out by Buddhists to Buddhism or those carried out by Christians to Christianity.”
The same thing refers to all other religions, he said, adding that it is not fair, not objective and not right to attribute crimes and terrorist attacks of certain Muslims to Islam.
The world should know that Islam is a religion of peace, knowledge, tolerance, respecting the diversity, the director general of ISESCO stressed.
“We condemn strongly what happened in Paris, as we condemn what happened in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen, everywhere,” he said. “Terrorism is terrorism, and it has nothing to do with religion.”
ISESCO-Azerbaijan cooperation
Addressing the event, the head of the organization also praised the cooperation with Azerbaijan. He expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani government for assistance in the activities of the ISESCO.
Azerbaijan has played an important role in achieving great success of the ISESCO, said Azerbaijan’s Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev.
Azerbaijan attaches great importance to developing of cooperation with the ISESCO, the minister noted, saying: “The fact that Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva is the Goodwill Ambassador of the organization is a prime example of high-level cooperation between Azerbaijan and the ISESCO.”
Garayev also expressed gratitude of the Azerbaijani side for the support of the country’s fair position in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The minister noted that the active position of the ISESCO allows representing the level of Islamic culture and education globally, to announce the peacefulness of Islam religion at the global level.
Azerbaijan is a member of the organization since gaining independence in 1991.
The ISESCO event in Baku has gathered representatives of international organizations and foreign countries, ministers of culture and education, and diplomats.
The Executive Board, which includes representatives of 52 countries from Asia, Africa and the Arab region, meets once a year. The meeting will discuss the organization’s activities, financial and other issues.
The 12th General Conference of ISESCO, which is held every three years, will open on November 26. It is determine the overall action strategy, coordinat and evaluate issues in the scope of the organization, approve the Action Plan and the organization’s budget for the next three years.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’ staff journalist. Follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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