Properly developed relations between Orthodox Christians and Muslims are an important component in the fight against international terrorism, Patriarch Kirill said today during a meeting with the Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reports.
"In this sense, Orthodox-Muslim bilateral relations are very important. Such relations between Orthodox Christians and Muslims have been created in the CIS many decades ago. You take a dialogue with Orthodox brothers to heart and actively participate in it. Your peace-making position is well known, including the discussion of very difficult relations connected with the Karabakh problem," the patriarch appealed to Allahshukur Pashazade.
"And I want to say that the Russian Church has always made sincere efforts in the peacemaking field, and considers it its duty to do everything possible to preserve and strengthen peace wherever possible, including in Russia, the CIS countries and the long-suffering Middle East," the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said.
"We are taking the tragedy in Syria and Iraq very close to heart. At one time I used to receive a lot of requests for help from Christian groups and Christian Sabeans. This was about both Syria and Iraq. Representatives of churches in the Middle East appealed to our president to defend the Christian presence, and not only the Christian presence, but also Muslims," he noted.
"We know that today the Russian Federation is taking an active part in the fight against terrorism, and we hope that, together with those who want true peace in the Middle East, we will be able to achieve change in the situation for the better, to stabilize the political situation, but most importantly to defeat terrorism and to stop the bloodshed," the head of the Russian Orthodox Church stressed.
The chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Sheikh-ul-Islam Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh, stressed that the problem of international terrorism is not religious, but political. "Certain political forces are trying to introduce Islam and Muslims as a force opposed to other religions, so IS has been created for this purpose. I want to emphasize that we do not accept IS as a part of Islam. This force is against Islam," he said.
"And I think we should conduct a joint struggle against this terrorist group, in the same way as we fight other terrorist groups. I believe that the joint efforts of the public and political forces, personalities and clerics can successfully combat this phenomenon of terrorism," Sheikh-ul-Islam stressed.
"There are forces trying to interfere in the internal affairs of Russia, on the one hand, and on the other, to reduce the international prestige of Russia. Today, we witness a flood of refugees, who have been forced to leave their homelands for Europe, escaping violence and terror. We see that Europe can no longer cope with this flow. The are more than 1 million refugees from Karabakh in Azerbaijan alone," he noted.
"In this regard, I once again want to emphasize your primary role: you were among the first to have helped and are helping to solve the Karabakh conflict by peaceful means. And I want to thank you on behalf of the Azerbaijani people. I believe that our joint efforts in the future will bear fruit," Pashazadeh told the patriarch.
According to Pashazadeh, the situation is worsening due to the fact that the terrorist threat comes not only from Syria, but from Iraq and Afghanistan too. "Whether it's Christians, Muslims or Jews, if we unite together, we will succeed. We hope and believe that our Karabakh problem will be resolved peacefully," Pashazadeh noted.
"Your religious policy is the right policy. With your help, by joint efforts, we will create the conditions that can contribute to the solution of this question. I want to especially thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to meet with me. The conference [the 3rd International Forum ‘Religion and Peace’ - VK], of course, is a very important event, but I had a desire to personally meet you from the very beginning," the head of the Caucasian Muslims Office said.
In addition, Allahshukur Pashazadeh informed about a desire of the President of Azerbaijan to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. "I had a telephone conversation with Ilham Aliyev and he said that he hopes that your meeting will take place and asked me to give you his best regards," Sheikh-ul-Islam concluded.
