Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 13
By Ilkin Izzet - Trend: Azerbaijan's tolerance model sets a good example for the Muslim world, therefore it is most important to make the added value of such peaceful co-existence visible for all of us, according to a message of Laszlo Surjan, Vice-President of the European Parliament to the participants of presentation of the report on "Religious minorities in Azerbaijan: from history to independence," prepared by the international organization "Human Rights without borders. "
The Vice-President stressed that this report had deep impressions on him.
"In a time of ever-changing ideologies, people tend to understand their identities against the ones of the others and go overboard on judging and stereotyping. This is especially dangerous when leaders of a country misuse such sentiments for the purpose of gaining political capital as it results in the persecution of minority religions and those not holding any beliefs in a theocratic country. On the other hand, similar mistakes might happen if a secular state turns into a dictatorship and aims to eliminate religion from all aspects of life, be it the public or the private sphere. We saw the sad results of the latter behavior in the communist regimes," Laszlo Surjan said.
According to the Vice-President, theoretically it is easy, in practice it is most difficult, to find the right balance for the co-existence of majority and minority religions and beliefs.
Azerbaijan achieved significant successes in this regard and found this balance, Laszlo Surjan said.
"It is my greatest pleasure to be able to praise the country for the very promising developments in accommodating non-Muslim minorities in the 96% Islamic Azerbaijan. I believe that their model constitutes a role model for the Muslim world, therefore it is most important to make the added value of such peaceful co-existence visible for all of us. This might be helpful for the problematic countries of the Arab Spring and might also contribute to fight Islamophobia in Western countries," a message of the European Parliament's Vice-President said.