Baku hosts int'l forum on promotion of tolerance
By Sabina Idayatova
An international forum on promoting tolerance worldwide started in Baku on Wednesday with the support of the Azerbaijani government, according to Trend news agency.
The first Baku International Forum on "State and Religion: Strengthening tolerance in the changing world", is being held on the initiative of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation and several international organizations.
After the short film "Azerbaijan - spiritual traditions and
tolerance" was shown, the Presidential Administration's head of
social and political issues, Ali Hasanov, read out a message of
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev to the event participants.
President Aliyev noted with satisfaction that historically
Azerbaijan has never been in disagreement or confrontation on
ethnic and religious grounds, and there have existed progressive
national, cultural and religious relations, on the basis of mutual
trust and respect.
According to the president's message, ethnic and religious tolerance, considered in the progressive world as one of the values of democracy, has become a model of the Azerbaijani society.
Delivering a keynote speech, chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations Elshad Iskandarov spoke about the significance of the event, stressing that Azerbaijan is an ideal place for holding such events, as other religions have always been treated in the country with respect.
According to Iskandarov, Azerbaijan is the only country that promotes inter-religious and inter-cultural development. "Multiculturalism stems from the mentality of the Azerbaijani people," he said.
Iskandarov also noted that fostering of an atmosphere of tolerance plays a special role in the background of the developments ongoing in the world today.
Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikhulislam Haji Allahshukur Pashazade accused a number of international organizations of a biased attitude towards Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan hopes for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict [with Armenia] within international law," he said. "However, it feels there is a biased attitude from a number of international organizations, including Freedom House, which do not make any effort to prosecute a country that committed one of the biggest tragedies in history, the Khojaly genocide [committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in 1992 during the war between the two countries]."
Referring to the claims by Freedom House that media is not independent and the internet is partially free in Azerbaijan, Pashazade said that at a time human rights are being violated in European countries, terrorism and extremism rage, attempts to shape biased public opinion by some European international organizations are "beyond accepted frames".
According to the clerical leader, the reason of holding such an important event in Baku is the exemplary tolerance in the country. He noted that people of all religions freely carry out their religious rites and ceremonies in Azerbaijan.
The head of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez also praised the tolerance in Azerbaijan, saying there is no such atmosphere of tolerance in most countries of the world.
Head of Iran's Islamic Culture and Relations Organization Mohammad-Baqer Khorramshad, Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Adel Abdullah Al-Falah, officials from Egypt and the Russian republic of Dagestan are among the participants at the Baku forum.
Meanwhile, during a meeting with Pashazade held on Wednesday in Baku, Khorramshad, referring to the membership of Iran and Azerbaijan in international and regional organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), said that the current situation necessitates establishment of close relations between the two Muslim countries, irna.ir website reported.
For his part, Pashazade said expansion of the cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan will meet the interests of both nations and added that plenty of cultural, religious and social commonalities between the two countries have paved the way for increasing bilateral trade and development of political relations.
Pashazade highly assessed the role of Iran's embassy in Baku in strengthening cultural and scientific cooperation between Tehran and Baku and underlined the conduct of meetings between senior officials as a way to further boost the cooperation.
In conclusion of the forum underway in the Azerbaijani capital, participants are to adopt the Baku Platform.