International conference on ‘CIS Muslims for peace and sustainable development held in Baku

The second meeting of the Advisory Board of the Commonwealth Independent States’ (CIS) Muslims and international scientific conference themed ‘CIS Muslims for peace and sustainable development’ attended by religious leaders and representatives from numerous countries was held in Baku yesterday.

Head of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration’s socio-political affairs department, Ali Hasanov, read out the address of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the conference participants, who stressed Azerbaijan, as one of the cultural and historical centers of the Islamic world and secular and multi-confessional state.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that Islam – an integral part of Azerbaijani national culture and mentality, always calls up people, due to its universal nature and unifying mission for peace, humanism and solidarity.

‘Mutual understanding, cooperation and good neighborly relations among nations and religions lay a path towards a happy future,’ Head of the Caucasus Muslims Office, Sheikhulislam Haji Allahshukur Pashazade, said at the opening ceremony of the international conference.

According to Pashazade, religious leaders have to support the implementation of high ideals through their statements and actions.

Pashazade was re-elected as chairman of the Advisory Council of the CIS Muslims for the next five years during the second meeting of the Council.

‘Muslim events in the CIS area are attended by representatives of other religious confessions, which in turn increases the importance and value of these events,’ Pashazade said.

The event is attended by representatives of religious confessions in Azerbaijan, members of the government and parliament, representatives of scientific and cultural intelligentsia and the diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan.

Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Sergey Lebedev said at the conference that an important condition for peace and harmony in our religious community is combining the positive efforts of Muslim communities, their actual interaction with government agencies and international organizations.

‘For several years the forum has been a significant event in strengthening the interaction of the Islamic communities of the Commonwealth. It is aimed at enhancing inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue and promotes mutual understanding between the people of the CIS,’ Lebedev said.

Lebedev also said that ‘the people of our countries are united by a great historical past with spiritual and cultural traditions’.

‘Therefore, we have a good basis to work together to promote peace and harmony in our common home. We are confident this conference will aim at achieving these goals,’ he said.

According to Lebedev, the CIS Executive Committee fully supports the plans and intentions of the Muslims of the Commonwealth to promote peace and stability and is willing to cooperate in this regard.

Further, the messages of the Russian, Belarusian and Kyrgyz Presidents to the participants of the international conference were read out.

In his message Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that it is necessary to consistently reject religious fanaticism and attempts to pervert the moral foundations of Islam based on charity, mutual assistance and tolerance.

‘There are millions of followers of Islam in the CIS countries, and it is important that Muslim organizations have an active dialogue and make a significant contribution to strengthening mutual understanding between peoples of different nationalities,’ the message said.

‘The forum agenda includes such topical issues as protection of moral and cultural values, religious feelings of citizens and opposition to extremism and radicalism. An open and lively discussion of these issues is required and opportune,’ it said.

‘I am convinced that a constructive and meaningful discussion at the conference will contribute to further development of age-old traditions of friendship and tolerance in the Eurasian region and strengthen spiritual ties between the Islamic communities of the CIS and abroad,’ Putin`s message said.

Besides, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Azerbaijan on the opening of the international scientific and practical conference.

The President’s greetings to the delegates of the conference were delivered by the Ambassador of Belarus to Azerbaijan Nikolay Patskevich.

‘In these difficult times the strengthening of traditional values and establishment of civil agreement are becoming increasingly important. Constructive interfaith dialogue contributes to the unity of the international community, uniting nations and people based on the principles of peace,’ Lukashenko’s message said.

According to Lukashenko, the conference will contribute to strengthening and enhancing cooperation between religious organizations of the CIS.

Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev said in his welcoming letter to the conference participants that in today’s world people are more concerned with security issues, however, it is impossible to ensure this without regional and international cooperation.

‘A security system in the world cannot be created without the participation of society in the process of building a safer world and creative forces,’ Atambayev’s message says.

According to Atambayev, Islam has unique capabilities in the post-Soviet space, bringing people together based on common values, preaching tolerance and being a religion of peace and harmony.

‘However, there are times when politics and the media, failing to understand the peacemaking and civilized nature of Islam, sometimes associate it with terrorism and violence,’ the message says.

Atambayev also noted that there is a small minority of Muslims that misrepresent Islam, interpreting the verses of the Holy Quran outside its historical context and without taking into account the traditionally perceived context and calling for violence.

‘Only Muslims themselves may deal with such negative phenomena in Islam through religious enlightenment and education,’ Atambayev said in the letter.

The Kyrgyz President expressed hope that the scientific conference being held in Baku would create a forum for discussion of the pressing problems in the areas of peace and stability and the role of Islam in the process.

In the framework of the international conference the heads and representatives of the Muslim communities of the Commonwealth adopted a final document. According to the document, the main purpose of the meeting was strengthening the interaction of Muslim communities in the former Soviet Union, joining the efforts of Muslim religious leaders in the spiritual combat against the increase of radicalism and reconfirmation of commitment to multiculturalism and tolerance.