Religious tolerance: culture of coexistence in Azerbaijan

Early September passes for Parisians under the sign of Azerbaijani culture. (See. "Country of tolerance presented in Paris"). 'Azerbaijani town' opened on Pale Royal square, it is a place where the history, culture, folklore, traditions and customs, national cuisine are presented; In the City Hall of the First District of Paris photographer Reza Deggati presents his exhibition 'Azerbaijan - a country of tolerance'; yesterday, the French capital hosted an evening of classical music 'Azerbaijani music in the heart of Paris' with the participation of well-known pianist Murad Huseynov.

On the same day, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, in the framework of the project 'Azerbaijan in the heart of Paris', organized a conference "Religious tolerance: culture of coexistence in Azerbaijan", which was attended by respected religious leaders and representatives of religious communities from both countries, who agreed that the culture of tolerance has an exemplary character in the Land of Fire.

The country is located at the crossroads of civilizations and cultures, and became a bridge between Asia and Europe long ago. As the first lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva stated at the conference, these factors are playing an important role in the emergence of cultural diversity in the country, where there are mosques, churches, synagogues, all religious freedoms are provided, and representatives of all religions have equal rights. "We have never experienced any confrontations on religious or ethnic grounds - Mehriban Aliyeva stated. - State-religious relations played an important role in the preservation of traditions of tolerance in our country, and the conditions, created in Azerbaijan, give reason to say that there is no alternative to multiculturalism ".

In adopted in 1995 Constitution of Azerbaijan, the principle of secularity is reflected, which covers state-religious relations, and today one of the important elements of tolerance became the fact that its preservation has become a state policy. Political stability, social and economic development contribute to this. Azerbaijan successfully solved social problems, pays special attention to the development of educational sector, which in itself does not give possibility for the emergence of radical tendencies in society. "We want to convey to the world that coexistence is possible," - Mehriban Aliyeva said.

At the same time, she mentioned the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, reminding that 20% of Azerbaijani territory is still occupied, a million people became refugees and internally displaced persons, 613 Azerbaijanis were brutally killed in Khojaly, our national and historical monuments were destroyed.

 

Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by the First Lady of Azerbaijan, attaches great importance to the mutual enrichment of cultures and civilizations, the strengthening of dialogue between peoples, the preservation of tolerance traditions. The Foundation carries out restoration of religious monuments and shrines; it has participated in the organization of the department of Islamic Culture in the Louvre, the restoration of the Roman catacombs, the creation of conditions for education of Jewish children, repairing of churches in Strasbourg and other regions of France.

In Azerbaijan, there are seven synagogues, two secondary schools, a college, three kindergartens for the Jews and a Jewish home. The Chairman of the religious community of Mountain Jews of Azerbaijan Milih Yevdayev believes, that the Azerbaijani and Jewish peoples have always shown an excellent example of co-existence, and the Mountain Jews now are actively involved in development processes in Azerbaijan."In a muslim country the state has built a synagogue for us. It has no analogues in the world "- Yevdayev said.

Archbishop of Baku and Azerbaijan Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexander Ischein, expressed the view that in the basis of the fact that in Azerbaijan, representatives of all religions have equal rights and actively are participating in public life, lies a unique mentality of the Azerbaijani people.