A Friday Prayer was performed yesterday in the Heydar Mosque in Baku as part of the Year of Multiculturalism declared by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. A Prayer for Unity was jointly performed by Muslims belonging to various denominations of Islam for the first time in the world.
For more than a thousand years, Sunnis and Shiites, the followers of the two major Islamic denominations, have prayed in different manners in different places. Since the anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev’s death, Sunnis and Shiites have been praying together in the Heydar Mosque. The official Sunni and Shiite imams of the mosque take turns in leading Jummah prayers on a weekly basis.
"It was an honor to show that the Prayer for Unity was the most beloved prayer both in Azerbaijan’s experience and international experience. Allah tells us in the Quran to unite rather than to split. Adherents of the two denominations having prayed in the same mosque is a great achievement. Common Friday prayer in a mosque, of course, deserves a lot of approval," the head of the Heydar Mosque Haji Sabir said.
"As representatives of the two denominations, we participated in the Friday prayer today. I have been in several Muslim countries where Sunnis cannot pray in Shia mosques. At the same time, Shiites cannot pray in Sunni mosques," the Imam of Sunni prayers Hafiz Abbasov said.
Akhund of the Heydar Mosque Rufat Garayev congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on Friday and the day of unity. "It was a desire of representatives of both denominations to pray together. And, thank God, we have achieved this," he said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared 2016 the Year of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan against the background of increasing trends of radicalism and Islamophobia in Europe. The President noted that Azerbaijan has unique experience in this area. Multiculturalism today stands as an integral part of the ongoing democratic processes in Azerbaijan.
