AT THE CENTRE OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD

A ceremony to mark the start of the year Baku-Capital of Islamic Culture 2009 was held on 18 February. It was the natural outcome of the decision of the fifth Islamic conference of culture ministers of member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, held on 21-23 November 2007 in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. This event certainly drew the attention of the whole world to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO and ISESCO and a deputy of the Milli Maclis, took part in the ceremony. The invited guests included culture ministers from Europe and Asia and their deputies, the director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, and others.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that such cultural initiatives play a significant role in uniting Islamic countries and solving global problems. "I am grateful to ISESCO and the Organization of the Islamic Conference which played a significant role in Baku becoming the capital of Islamic culture. This is a very important event for Azerbaijan. I would say that this is a source of pride for Baku."

The president said that Azerbaijan is a young state, whose independence is just 17 years old, but, despite this, the country is able to make its contribution to the friendship of Islamic countries. "Practice shows that an association of Islamic countries can play a significant role in solving global problems. The cooperation of Islamic countries is necessary economically, politically and culturally. The latest meetings of the foreign ministers and culture and tourism ministers of Islamic countries show that Azerbaijan is interested in the development of relations with Islamic countries. For our part, we will continue our work," Ilham Aliyev said.

Talking about the humanitarian and historic significance of the Islamic religion, the head of state said that Islam is a fraternal, tolerant religion and everyone should promote it this way. The president also stressed that the choice of Baku as capital of Islamic culture is recognition of the city's merits. Today international institutions recognize Azerbaijan as one of the countries better prepared for the economic crisis. "This preparedness has not fallen on us from the sky; we have achieved it ourselves through painstaking work. I have no doubt that Azerbaijan will emerge with honour from this difficult crisis which has enveloped the whole world. Although the economic crisis is broad and has made many countries re-examine their future policies, Azerbaijan has not cut its expenditure on culture. And Azerbaijani culture is an integral part of Islamic culture," the head of state said.

Ilham Aliyev also said that Azerbaijan is a country with its own particular cultural environment, which can be seen in Azerbaijan's historic monuments and sights, art and literature. In his speech the president also touched on the problems of Nagornyy Karabakh and the planned destruction by "Armenian vandals" of Azerbaijani historic and architectural monuments on the territories occupied by the separatists. "We would like to bring to the attention of the international community information about the atrocities of the Armenians. Azerbaijan is developing every day but this trend is not in evidence in Armenia.

"The international community and international organizations should not conduct a two-faced policy. Azerbaijani land is under occupation by Armenians and Azerbaijan will not make any concessions on territorial integrity, as 20 per cent of our land is under occupation and we have more than one million refugees," the head of state said. He hoped that international organizations involved in this issue will conduct a just policy. "We want peace in the region, our aim is to protect the independence of the state, strengthen and develop it." The president thanked the Islamic countries for their support for the UN resolution on Nagornyy Karabakh. "This is an example of Islamic unity."

ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri said that the declaration of Baku as capital of Islamic culture in 2009 is a significant event not only for Azerbaijan but for the whole Islamic world. "I am happy to be here today. We are glad that it is Baku that has become the capital of the Islamic world. Baku has become a city of dialogue, coexistence and solidarity between cultures and civilizations and also a centre of art, science and culture. We can see at least 15 educational, scientific and cultural programmes, which ISESCO intends to carry out in this beautiful city," the important visitor said.

Talking about the problem of Nagornyy Karabakh, Altwaijri said that ISESCO condemns the Armenian destruction of historic monuments on Azerbaijan's occupied territories. The ISESCO director general called on the international community to prevent this barbarity. The deputy director general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Atta Al-Manan Bakhit, stressed that the OIC and the Muslim world support Azerbaijan in the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. "I state categorically that Nagornyy Karabakh, part of Azerbaijani territory, must be constantly protected. Every-thing necessary will be done to achieve this." Atta Al-Manan Bakhit stressed the importance of a rapid restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. At the end of the ceremony the director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi-zation, Abdulaziz Othman Altwai-jri, handed head of state Ilham Aliyev the Baku-Capital of Islamic Culture 2009 emblem.

The announcement of Baku as Islamic capital of culture is a significant event for Azerbaijan. This can be seen in the cycle of events planned for the year - the opening of the Traditional Islamic Architecture international festival of young architects, the Interna-tional Mugham Festival, the Novruz celebrations, state and children's competitions, Culture Days of Kyrgyzstan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Morocco and other Muslim countries and the AITF-2009 exhibition. In addition, ISESCO weeks are to be held during the year and in October 2009 an international conference of culture ministers of Islamic states and other cultural events will take place.

The Capitals of Islamic Culture programme for 2005-14 was confirmed at the fourth conference of culture ministers of Islamic countries. The document said, inter alia: "In order to be declared a capital of Islamic culture, a city must have a rich history at the country and regional level, contribute to Islamic and common human culture in the areas of science, art and literature, have scientific research centres and centres for archaeological education and institutions organizing cultural events both on an individual and grand scale." The declaration of the Azerbaijani city of Baku as the centre of Islamic culture in 2009 is, therefore, further evidence of the recognition of the contribution of the Azerbaijani people with their unique cultural traditions to the treasure trove of world cultural heritage. This is another stage in the history of Azerbaijan, a country recognized by the world as a contemporary centre of religious, national and ethnic tolerance. Azerbaijan, with no exaggeration, can be described as a place where cultures, civilizations, arts and the literary traditions of many nations merge. And what is very important is that our country is today considered one of the leaders in inter-cultural dialogue between East and West.