ABILITY TO LIVE TOGETHER

Pope Francis’s visit to Baku on October 2 was a landmark event. His meetings and negotiations in Azerbaijan were another step to strengthen relations between our country and the Vatican. They also confirmed the crucial role of the Azerbaijani government in the development of dialogue between different civilizations and religions. This can be seen in the outcomes of the 5^th International Humanitarian Forum held in Baku.

The bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Vatican have been developing successfully for almost a quarter of a century. Pope John Paul II’s visit to our country in 2002 was a significant milestone in the strengthening of the Azerbaijan-Vatican dialogue.

The opening of the Catholic Church in Baku in 2008 was a historical event. This confirmed the ongoing tradition of support to the adherents of the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan. The first Catholic church was built in Baku in 1912. However, it was destroyed in 1934 by the Soviet regime, which took no mercy in destruction of numerous religious monuments. After gaining the independence and the approval of freedoms of conscience and worship, many old temples were restored and a number of mosques, churches, and synagogues were constructed. This is how the Catholic Church was born in the capital of independent Azerbaijan.

In 2012, we celebrated 20 years of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Vatican. On this occasion, the Azerbaijani exhibition was held in Vatican’s museums, which was the very first event organized by a Muslim country in the papal state. Bilateral relations have been maintained at the state level and through a variety of non-governmental organizations. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation has supported the overhaul of some relics and artifacts of Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel, the catacombs of Saints Marcellino and Pietro, as well as various works at the Apostolic Library.

The visit of the Roman Pontiff to Baku was yet another important event aimed at expanding the bilateral relations between our countries. Welcoming Pope Francis in Azerbaijan, President Aliyev called his visit to Baku “a historical event”. “This visit is very important for the humanity, as it re-confirms that the dialogue between civilizations is alive, ongoing, intensive, and we try to further encourage this dialogue”, said President Aliyev.

“You are sending an explicit message to the world from Baku that multiculturalism, inter-religious dialogue, good intentions and relations must win and take precedence... The eyes of your followers in all continents and everyone, who supports you, are turned to Baku. They learn about our country, our city and they can see that there is a modern, secular, and developing country in the Muslim world. They can see that the head of the world's Catholic community, His Holiness Francis is in Baku”, added President Aliyev.

Indeed, a warm welcome of the Pope in Baku has confirmed once again that the Azerbaijani society and the state continue to adhere to the traditional values of hospitality, tolerance, and multiculturalism. Ilham Aliyev also said that for centuries, the representatives of all religions and nations have lived in Azerbaijan in peace, dignity, and friendliness. Azerbaijan has always been a bridge between the East and the West. Stressing the exemplary nature of inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations in Azerbaijan, Mr. Aliyev mentioned the following facts: “We are proud to home one of the oldest mosques in the world built in 743 AC, the Juma Mosque is Shamakhi. One of the oldest churches in our region, the Church of Caucasian Albania is also located in Azerbaijan. There is an ancient Zoroastrian temple in Baku. At the same time, many orthodox and catholic churches, as well as the synagogues are protected and restored by the state”.

Pope Francis’s program of visit added another dimension to the colorful palette of the Azerbaijani capital. He held a special mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He also visited the Heydar Mosque, the largest Islamic mosque in the Caucasus, where he met with the representatives of all religious communities. “By opening the doors to unity and integration, you open the doors to the soul of every person giving hope to them. Azerbaijan, as a gateway between East and West, has always nurtured the culture of openness, which is the basis for building a world for people and a solid foundation for a bright future of mankind”, said Francis in his speech at the Heydar Mosque.

The Karabakh conflict, which remains a major cause of instability in the South Caucasus and a threat to the “bright future” of the region, was also on Pope’s agenda. President Aliyev addressed to the Pope and recalled him with deep regret that our people had faced a humanitarian catastrophe due to military aggression of Armenia, which still occupies the historical lands of our country. About one million of Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people. Our historical and religious monuments, mosques and cemeteries were destroyed by Armenia, while the Armenian Church survives in Baku and maintains more than five thousand books in Armenian language.

The Pope expressed his concern about the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. During the meeting with the representatives of Azerbaijani government, NGOs and diplomatic missions at the Heydar Aliyev Centre, the pontiff expressed his hope that the international community would assist in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “Taking care of this country, I would like to express my sincere closeness to those who were forced to leave their land, and to people who suffer from the consequences of the bloody conflict”, said Pope Francis. He believes that “with God's help and good will of the parties involved, the Caucasus will be a place where the disputes will be resolved and overcome through dialogue and negotiations”.

Incidentally, Pope Francis's position on the Karabakh conflict was the focus of the world's media. In particular, the British Catholic publication The Tablet believes that the Pope's visit to Azerbaijan will be an important step towards the reconciliation of the parties of the conflict and dispel rumors about his alleged support to the Armenian side due to his initial visit to Armenia in June 2016.

Forbes indicates that the purpose of Pope’s visit to Azerbaijan was “to promote peace in a Caucasus region, which still has an array of long-standing conflicts — namely the two breakaway regions in Georgia and the standoff between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh area”. According to Forbes’ columnist Wade Shepard, during his visit to Armenia in June, the pope bluntly stated that Azerbaijan and Armenia “not making peace on account of a small patch of land is something grim”. At the same time, the pope’s visit was part of a broader initiative for Azerbaijan – to improve its status as a significant crossroads of nations and cultures, the driving force behind the strategy of multiculturalism and internationalism. According to The New York Times, “Francis praised Azerbaijan as a country of religious tolerance”.

As to Francis’s assessment of Azerbaijan as a country of religious tolerance, it is worth noting that our country has successfully implemented “The Baku Process” for several years. As mentioned by President Aliyev, Azerbaijan is one of the unique countries that is a member of both the Council of Europe and Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The forum of the ministers of culture of the Council of Europe’s member states held in Baku in 2008 was also attended by the ministers from Muslim countries. Thus, for the first time in history and thanks to Azerbaijan’s initiative, the contacts were established between the cultural structures of the West and the Muslim East. A year later, in 2009, the ministers of culture from European countries were invited to the meeting of the ministers of culture from the Muslim countries. This process called “The Baku Process” continued when the Summit of World Religious Leaders was held in Baku. This was followed by the Baku International Forum on Intercultural Dialogue held every two years in Azerbaijan. The 7^th Global Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations held in Baku in 2016 according to UN decision is worth mentioning also. According to President Aliyev, the objective of all of these initiatives is to ensure cooperation between the adherents of all religions, to prevent the global conflicts and wars, as well as the religious and ethnic conflicts. Azerbaijan sends a signal to the world that simply reads “we can live together, we must respect each other”.

The 5^th Baku International Humanitarian Forum held in Baku a few days ago is yet another manifestation of Azerbaijan’s mission of tolerance. Over 350 participants from more than 50 countries attended the Forum, including the heads of prestigious international organizations, prominent representatives of the world political, scientific and cultural elite. Among the participants were 15 Nobel laureates in various fields of science. According to the Russian historian and political scientist Oleg Kuznetsov, “Once again, Azerbaijan has clearly demonstrated that it was a country of intellectuals, of people that can appreciate the achievements of the global human thought”.

The participants of the Forum signed a declaration, which stressed that Azerbaijan has made significant progress in the conservation and enhancement of humane capital, including such vulnerable groups as refugees and internally displaced people as a basis for sustainable development. The document also pays special attention to the need to shape ideas of ecological civilization and encourage different movements in support of the introduction of rational models of consumption and production, an attitude of care towards natural resources and awareness of the need to take action on climate change. The participants have called upon various international and national organizations to conduct forums systematically and to aim at creating an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect and solving the global and local challenges.

Pope Francis’s visit to Azerbaijan and the holding of the Baku International Humanitarian Forum successfully fit into “The Year of Multiculturalism” proclaimed in our country. Azerbaijan confirms that multiculturalism and tolerance, mutual influence of cultures, religions and peoples are old traditions of the Azerbaijani society, the way of life of our people, who had made great contribution to the cultural heritage of human civilization.