FIRE, WATER AND FOUR CONTINENTS

A fabulous journey into history, mesmerising show, grandiose fireworks...

The capital of Azerbaijan hosts yet another large-scale sporting event attracting athletes from four different continents.

On May 12, the official opening ceremony of the IV Islamic Solidarity Games took place in Baku. It was attended by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Vice President, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Islamiad Mehriban Aliyeva, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yusuf al-Uthaimin and other officials.

Tens of thousands of people watched a real oriental fairy tale from the stands of the Baku Olympic Stadium, and hundreds of millions from 50 countries of the world had a chance to monitor the event through the television.

The water journey, which launched the program of the IV Islamic Solidarity Games, similar to an oriental fairy tale, started 40 days before the opening ceremony. The water journey that began at the shore of the Caspian Sea has travelled 15 regions of Azerbaijan. The water taken from 16 sources of the country turned into a fountain at the opening of the Islamiad as a symbol of spiritual purification and unity. It is therefore no surprise that the main characters of the opening ceremony were the girl Mina and her grandfather - the symbols of modern and ancient Azerbaijan.

"In the centre of our ceremony is a small girl from Baku - Mina. She and her friend, a kite, will take us to the discovery of the universe. On the way, she gets to know with the originality and heritage of different people, their beliefs and dreams. The history of Mina is the personification of the power and unity of people. She dreams about a better world, where peace and harmony reign," said the artistic director of the ceremony Nathan M. Right before the Games.

So, after the parade of the teams, the main heroine of the Baku fairy tale, Mina, goes on a trip to the mysterious world with her grandfather launching a kite. On the stage is a huge monitor showing us the monuments of history and culture of Azerbaijan, Islamic symbols, mosques and minarets, a crescent symbolizing a new beginning. From one of the minarets, we can here the adhan performed by the world-famous People's Artist of Azerbaijan Alim Gasimov. It sounds mesmerizing. Flying over the Islamic world, Mina introduces the audience to the achievements of the Golden Age of Islam. A breath-taking spectacle is accompanied by the Azerbaijani national melody, works of Azerbaijani composers.

What is the oriental fairy tale without a magic phoenix bird? It flew for the first time under the Baku sky in 2015, when the first European games arrived in Baku. As the author of The Budapest Times, the Canadian journalist Lee Reni noted, "after the fall of the USSR, Baku rose from the ashes like a Phoenix." Now she has flown to help small Mina in gratitude for saving her chick. This became the embodiment of the power of modern Azerbaijan, its readiness to assist and its desire for solidarity throughout the world.

The next recognition of this role of Azerbaijan was the decision to hold the fourth Islamiad in Baku, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the Sports Federation of Islamic Solidarity in July 2013.

"This evening we unite the entire Islamic world. Azerbaijan is glad to assume this high mission. We are an ancient region with a culture spanning the millennium, and strong Islamic traditions. At the same time, we are a young, modern and dynamically developing country. Last year, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the independence of Azerbaijan. The multicultural history of the country is an integral part of our open, tolerant society. We are glad that we are part of the Islamic history and heritage, that we can share the Islamic values," said Mehriban Aliyeva, First Vice President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Organizing Committee of the IV Islamic Solidarity Games welcoming guests to the opening ceremony.

She recalled that 2017 was declared the Year of Islamic Solidarity in Azerbaijan, and the Islamiad would become a message of friendship, tolerance and mercy. "Our strength is in solidarity! Our Games will send this inspirational message far beyond the borders of Azerbaijan," said M. Aliyeva said.

Today, this appeal sounds more urgent than ever for the Islamic world, and the whole world. And it is no coincidence that the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Yusuf al-Uthaimin, drew attention to the fact that the Islamic world faces such complex challenges as the growth of extremism, radicalism, Islamophobia and isolation of some parts of society. "The Islamic Solidarity Games are among the largest sporting events in the world, since these Games bring together about 4,000 athletes from different countries belonging to different cultures. This demonstrates the Islamic solidarity, reflects the true essence of Islam, that it is the religion of peace and tolerance, strengthens unity, harmony, the bonds of friendship between peoples, regardless of their cultures and differences, and their coexistence in peaceful conditions," said OIC Secretary General expressing his deep gratitude to the people, president and government of Azerbaijan for organizing such a remarkable event.

The conduct of the Islamic Solidarity Games is a logical continuation of the state policy of Azerbaijan, aimed at ensuring solidarity, dialogue between cultures and civilizations. And it is no coincidence that in 2015 Baku assumed the organization of the first ever European games. "Naturally, these Games were a sporting event, but I believe that they had a symbolic meaning. Because the first organized European games were held in a Muslim country. It was an indicator of multiculturalism and religious tolerance," President Ilham Aliyev said at the opening of the IV World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, which took place in Baku just before the Islamiad.

Thus, the European and Islamic games actually turned into a global movement for a dialogue between the cultures and civilizations initiated by Azerbaijan in 2008 and subsequently called the "Baku process".

Within the framework of this process, for the first time Azerbaijan invited their colleagues from the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to the session of the Ministers of the member countries of the Council of Europe. A year later, the Ministers of the Council of Europe countries visited Baku at a meeting of their OIC colleagues.

Consistently following the chosen policy, Azerbaijan declared 2016 the Year of Multiculturalism, and the current year - the Year of Islamic Solidarity.

Baku hosted the International Humanitarian Forum five times, the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue four times, the World Summit of Religious Leaders, the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. This year, we also hosted the first high-level meeting of international organizations organized by Azerbaijan in partnership with the Council of Europe, UNESCO, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, ISESCO, United Nations World Tourism Organization and FAO.

"All these events help us outline the ways to reduce tensions and risks, ensure better mutual understanding between different peoples and religions," said the Azerbaijani president.

In addition to important political initiatives, Azerbaijan also implements numerous humanitarian and charity projects in various parts of the world, some of which were listed by Mehriban Aliyeva. This includes the reconstruction of the school for girls destructed after an earthquake in Pakistan; restoration of ancient catacombs in Rome; historical monuments in the park of the Palace of Versailles; construction of various schools, mosques and churches, rehabilitation centres, medical institutions and recreation parks in several cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Hungary , Romania, Russia and Serbia; restoration of about 20 local churches in the Lower Normandy Region of France; restoration works in the Strasbourg cathedral; restoration and digitization of ancient manuscripts in Vatican Museum; the participation in the creation of the Department of Islamic Art in the Louvre Museum, restoration of the architectural museum-preserve Trapezitsa in Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria; restoration of the Berlin church in Germany; restoration of the philosophers' hall in the Capitoline Museum of Rome in Italy .

The young, independent state of the Muslim world is restoring catacombs in Rome, monuments in the Vatican, the church in Berlin... All these projects, coupled with the holding of European and now the Islamic Games in Baku, are a very great contribution of Azerbaijan to the prevention of dangerous trends of Islamophobia and tying Islam with terrorism. "Holding both the European Games and the Islamic Solidarity Games for two years in the same city is an indicator of our policies and intentions," underlined the Azerbaijani President.

About 4,000 athletes from 54 countries take part in the Baku Islamiad. It is noteworthy that never had so many countries participated in the Islamic Solidarity Games so far.

The athletes compete for 269 sets of medals in 24 different types of sports. In total, the winners will be awarded 1600 medals. Azerbaijan is represented by 425 sportsmen.

As reported by Interfax-Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani athletes won 50 medals during the first two days of the competition.

The Azerbaijani athletes have 24 gold medals, 17 silver and 9 bronze medals. In the team medal standings, Azerbaijan took the first place after two days. The second place is taken by the Turkish national team, which has 59 medals (20-24-15). Uzbekistan is the third runner-up with 21 medals (5-4-12).

In general, athletes from 17 countries were awarded medals for the first two days of the Games. Athletes from 13 countries became the gold medallists of the tournament.

Regardless of the results of the competition, the fourth Islamiad will remain in history not just as a large-scale sporting event or spectacular show but as a fight against the evil, an appeal for peace, unity and solidarity.