Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Baku has reaffirmed the status of a capital of inter-religious dialogue, becoming one of the places of visit of Pope Francis, as part of his swing through the Caucasus preaching tolerance and peace.

During his historic visit to Azerbaijan on October 2, Pope Francis met with leadership of the country and the local Roman Catholic community and led Sunday Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baku.

For the Holy See, as well as other religious institutions, Azerbaijan should be one of the examples of how different religions can peacefully coexist, not just without interfering with each other, but also supporting the peace dialogue.

Azerbaijan has fewer than 300 Catholics in its predominantly Shi'ite Muslim population.

Not infrequently one can see an Azerbaijani, practicing Islam, who go to the Orthodox and Catholic churches and vice versa, any Christian living in the country can visit the mosque.

This means that calls from different religions are heard and properly understood in one country. And it seems that in a multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic Azerbaijan people knows that God is one, and does not use religion as an instrument of influence or a reason for contention.

Following the official welcoming ceremony, The pontiff met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

President Aliyev called the visit "historic" and noted that “the visit is very important for the relations between Vatican and Azerbaijan and for the dialogue among civilizations”.

During the meeting of Pope Francis with representatives of the general public at the Heydar Aliyev Center, Ilham Aliyev said that representatives of all religions and nations have lived in Azerbaijan in peace, dignity and friendly atmosphere for centuries, adding that this continues in the same way today as well.

“Regardless of the socio-political structure, civilizations have always come together in our land. Azerbaijan has always played a role of a bridge between the East and the West. This is both a geographical and moral bridge,” said the president.

He pointed out that the historical monuments of all religions are protected and restored in Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan is a very ancient land. We are proud that one of the oldest mosques in the world, the Juma Mosque of Shamakhi, which was built in 743, is situated in Azerbaijan,” said President Aliyev.

“At the same time, one of the oldest churches in our region, the Church of Caucasian Albania, is also in Azerbaijan,” said the president. “The ancient temple of fire worshippers, Orthodox and Catholic churches, synagogues are protected and restored by the state in Baku.”

The head of state went on saying that Azerbaijan is a native land of all peoples living in our country.

”Azerbaijan stands strong. It is a modern, secular, developing country open for cooperation,” said the president.

President Aliyev pointed out that Pope Francis’ visit to Azerbaijan is a great honor for the country.

“You sent a clear message from Baku to the whole world, saying that multiculturalism, the interreligious dialogue, good will and good attitude should gain victory and prevail,” President Aliyev said to Pope Francis.

President Aliyev further spoke about the most vulnerable occasion of Azerbaijani people Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, emphasizing that regretfully, Azerbaijani people have faced a humanitarian disaster.

President Aliyev mentioned that Azerbaijan’s historical land Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts have been occupied by Armenian armed forces as a result of the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan in early 1990s.

“Our citizens, more than a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs on their native lands. Twenty percent of our lands are under occupation. A policy of ethnic cleansing was pursued against us. Khojaly genocide was committed against our people and ten countries have officially recognized this genocide,” said the president.

OSCE has sent fact-finding missions to the occupied lands twice and the report of these missions are horrifying, said the president. “All of our historical and religious monuments have been destroyed by Armenia. Our mosques, graves have been destroyed and our museums have been ravaged,” he added.

“We restored an Armenian church in Baku and more than 5,000 books in Armenian language are kept in this church. This is the difference: their actions and our attitude. Therefore, it is not accidental that Azerbaijan is known in the world as a center of multiculturalism,” said the president.

President Aliyev pointed out that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved in line with the international law.

Speaking at the event, Pope Francis said that, the world, unfortunately, is experiencing the tragedy of many conflicts fueled by intolerance, which in turn is fomented by violent ideologies and by the effective denial of the rights of the weakest.

"Mindful also of this country, I wish to express my heartfelt closeness to those who have had to leave their land and to many people who suffer the effects of bloody conflicts. I hope that the international community may be able to offer unfailingly its indispensable help," he said.

He also said that the Catholic Church, even though it has a small presence in the country, is truly present in the civic and social life of Azerbaijan; it participates in its joys and shares the challenges of confronting its difficulties.

“The juridical recognition, made possible by the ratification of the international agreement with the Holy See in 2011, has furthermore offered a stable regulatory framework for the life of the Catholic community in Azerbaijan,” said Pope Francis. “I am moreover particularly pleased with the cordial relations enjoyed by the Catholic, Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish communities.”

Within the framework of his visit to Azerbaijan, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"You are a little flock that is so precious in God's eyes," Francis told the more than 800 people who followed the Mass inside the church and outside in the courtyard.

While citing the words of St. Mary, Pope Francis left a message to Baku’s believers.

"The fruit of faith is love,” he said. “The fruit of love is service and the fruit of service is peace."

During his 10-hour visit to Baku, Pope Francis also met with the Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade and representatives of all the main faiths and also visited the Heydar Mosque, the largest in the Caucasus, where he said God should never be used to justify fundamentalism.

Azerbaijan, as a phenomenon, should interest many people and countries, who are increasingly faced with the implacable enmity of religions and nationalities.

Centuries of anti-Semitism, the persecution of the Muslim refugees, the attacks that were organized by Islamists, that undermine the already fragile dialogue of religions in the world all together create a negative background for seemingly such a simple thing as a peace between believers.

In these circumstances, Azerbaijan should be a vivid pattern and an example of how public policy of tolerance and dialogue multicultural could create a fertile ground for interreligious peace.