Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

A unique model of religious tolerance, Azerbaijan can be an example to combat Islamophobia in Europe and the development of multiculturalism, the chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations Elshad Iskandarov said during the presentation of the report on the "Religious minorities in Azerbaijan: from history to independence" prepared by the international organization of Human Rights Without Frontiers.

Presentation of the report took place on November 13 at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels, the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations reported.

The address of the Vice-President of the European Parliament Laszlo Surjan to the event participants noted that the report made a deep impression on the atmosphere of religious tolerance in Azerbaijan.

In his address, the Vice-President congratulated Azerbaijan on achieving fundamental results in the field of peaceful coexistence and cooperation among the Muslim majority with religious minorities.

According to Surjan, Azerbaijan's model of tolerance sets a good example for the Muslim world, therefore it is most important to make visible the added value of such peaceful co-existence to both European and Muslim countries.

"In a time of ever-changing ideologies, people tend to understand their identities against the ones of others and go overboard on judging and stereotyping. This is especially dangerous when leaders of a country misuse such sentiments for the purpose of gaining political capital as it results in the persecution of minority religions and those not holding any beliefs in a theocratic country. On the other hand, similar mistakes might happen if a secular state turns into a dictatorship and aims to eliminate religion from all aspects of life, be it the public or the private sphere. We saw the sad results of the latter behavior in the communist regimes," Surjan said.

According to the Vice-President, theoretically it is easy, in practice it is more difficult, to find the right balance for the co-existence of majority and minority religions and beliefs.

Azerbaijan achieved significant successes in this regard and found this balance, Surjan said.

"It is my greatest pleasure to be able to praise the country for the very promising developments in accommodating non-Muslim minorities in 96% Islamic Azerbaijan. I believe that their model constitutes a role model for the Muslim world; therefore it is most important to make the added value of such peaceful co-existence visible for all of us. This might be helpful for the problematic countries of the Arab Spring and might also contribute to fight Islamophobia in Western countries," a message of the European Parliament's Vice-President said.

Then, the chairman of the organization of Human Rights Without Frontiers, Willy Fautré presented a report prepared by his group. He stressed that the report was prepared on the basis of research held during the visits of the organization's representatives to Azerbaijan.

The report says that the balanced state policy pursued in Azerbaijan in the sphere of religion is an important contribution in this area.

In connection with the report, the European Parliament has recommended strengthening strategic ties with Azerbaijan, to provide assistance to the states affected by religious conflicts as well as in the application of Azerbaijan`s model of tolerance to other Muslim countries.

At the presentation of the report Iskandarov noted that this research is very important from the point of view of being the first document prepared by the European institutions, which reflects the religious tolerance in Azerbaijan and the relationship between state and religion.

"It is very significant that, the report was submitted to the headquarters of the European Parliament on the eve of the Vilnius summit of Eastern Partnership". This report, in contrast to some other reports that are not based on reality and voiced in the European Parliament, objectively reflects the high level of religious tolerance in Azerbaijan," Iskandarov noted.

Iskandarov said that we hope after acquaintance with this report, the Members of European Parliament (MEPs), which from time to time express their concern about the growing sectarian tensions in the world, will see the reality of a unique and positive model on the European continent. The model of tolerance in Azerbaijan, most of the population of which is Muslim is ahead of some European countries on religious tolerance.

The Committee chairman also noted that preparation of objective reports not only meets the interest of Azerbaijan. "Recognizing the realities, the European organizations raise their prestige in the world. From this point of view, the objective reports are in the interests of Europe," he added.

At the end of the presentation, Azerbaijani representatives were asked questions on the subject. Answering a question from an Armenian journalist, Iskandarov said that Azerbaijan differs from Armenia positively on this issue.

"Unlike Armenia, which has turned into a mono-ethnic state as a result of ethnic cleansing, even the Armenians can live in peace in Azerbaijan. National and cultural rights of all national minorities are protected in Azerbaijan, no any nation or ethnic group is exposed to discrimination in our country," he noted.

The representatives Orthodox, Jewish, Protestant and Albanian-Udi communities operating in Azerbaijan informed the participants about the atmosphere of religious tolerance in Azerbaijan.