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Taken by Kazakhstan, the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions initiative played an important role in the development of dialogue and cooperation between people and religions, according to a member of its Secretariat.
Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade in The Astana Times emphasized that congress is a permanent platform not only for dialogue between spiritual leaders but also for meetings and exchange of views between politicians, public figures and representatives of religions. "I want to emphasize one important distinguishing feature of this forum. The congress is a permanent platform not only for dialogue between spiritual leaders but also for meetings and exchange of views between politicians, public figures and representatives of religions," Pashazade said in the publication. The Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions is held once in three years in Kazakhstan. This year, the country will host the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on September 14-15. Speaking about the bond between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the author in The Astana Times said that both the countries are united by common ethnic roots, language, history, religion, culture, as well as historical traditions of interethnic and interreligious tolerance. "The countries are located at the crossroads of world civilizations, therefore the preservation of the religious and cultural diversity of nations is an important part of our countries' policy," he said, adding that both in Kazakhstan and in Azerbaijan all conditions have been created to ensure and develop multiculturalism, interreligious peace and cooperation. Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade noted that the cases of ideological and practical threats such as xenophobia, Islamophobia, Christianophobia and anti-Semitism are growing in the world, which are serious obstacles to international stability and security. "Today, calls for the hatred that provoke aggression, violence and discrimination have become a real political and social threat. As a result of the ideological impact of such appeals, stability in various regions is undermined, which leads to a split and conflicts between people, war crimes, and genocide," he added. "The atmosphere of tolerance that has been formed over the centuries, the ethnic and cultural diversity that has been preserved, and the support for the national and spiritual solidarity of the Turkic-speaking peoples, as well as their socio-political stability, is a historical achievement in ensuring the sustainable and successful development of Kazakhstan," the writer added in The Astana Times. Established in 2019, at the initiative of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and with the support of Kazakhstan's First President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the center serves as the main coordinating body of the Congress. Pashazade in The Astana Times asserted that it is the duty of every political and religious leader to refrain from making speeches that incite hatred and confrontation under the pretext of freedom of speech and democracy. "I believe that as religious, political, scientific and public figures, having shown solidarity at the seventh Congress, we will strongly condemn in the final document all forms and manifestations of terrorism, incitement to hatred, xenophobia, the use of religion for personal or political purposes, as well as acts of extremism against believers in churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious temples, and will lift up our voices of protest against insults to religious symbols and shrines," he added. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have ample opportunities for further cooperation and deepening of both bilateral and multilateral relations for the development and promotion of common cultural and spiritual values in all areas of mutual interest, especially within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States. Regarding this, Pashazade said: "It should be noted that thanks to the comprehensive support of Kazakhstan, the idea of creating a Council of religious leaders of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States has become real and is close to its final implementation. We consider this our common moral insight, since the promotion of the contribution of the Turkic-Islamic spiritual and cultural heritage to world civilization is of great importance" Meanwhile, preparations for the seventh congress are taking place. (ANI)
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