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Azerbaijan sustained itself as icon of tolerance, coexistence – expert (VIDEO)

Politics Materials 28 April 2016 16:09 (UTC +04:00)
The 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is a very important event and it is important
Azerbaijan sustained itself as icon of tolerance, coexistence – expert (VIDEO)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 28

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

The 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is a very important event and it is important that this event was held in Baku, said Tamerlan Vahabov, a politics and international relations expert, speaking at the discussions held by the Baku International Policy and Security Network think tank.

"Baku has always been a famous and important part of multiculturalism, of tolerance. We can actually say that being a Muslim country and in this politically hard and difficult region, Azerbaijan has been able to sustain itself as an icon of tolerance and coexistence among cultures and different religions," said Vahabov.

He noted that many countries sent their high-ranking representatives to the 7th UNAOC Global Forum and this bolsters Azerbaijan's image as a place for peace.

"It is very important thing to hold it [the Forum] especially here, in a Muslim country. It can be a great example for other Muslim countries," added Vahabov.

He said it is now a very good and great moment to show the world that a Muslim country can be tolerant, can embrace the principles and values of coexistence, and Azerbaijan has been able to demonstrate this by holding such an important event - the 7th UNAOC Global Forum.

"Azerbaijan has a lot to demonstrate to the world," he said, adding that being a Muslim country, Azerbaijan has a Jewish community represented in the country's parliament, the Russian orthodox church, Catholics, and Protestants.

"You can see them not only in Baku. You can go to Guba and see the Red Sloboda - the largest Jewish settlement outside Israel in the world. This is an important milestone to show Azerbaijan's multicultural heritage and to share it with the world," he noted.

Vahabov added that the Azerbaijani identity is multicultural.

He said Azerbaijan is one of the rarest former Soviet republics where Russian language is still preserved.

"You can still hear it [Russian] in Baku, in the northern parts of Azerbaijan, in Ganja, in the biggest cities of Azerbaijan. And speaking Russian does not necessarily mean something else. I mean people still preserve their heritage, their Azerbaijani identity, they are proud of it. But at the same time they speak Russian," Vahabov said.

"And this is not just about the people who identify themselves as ethnic Turks, like indigenous people of Azerbaijan, but also [about] the Russians who have lived in Azerbaijan for several generations. They speak their own language - Russian, but at the same time they speak Azerbaijani," he said.

"And they are Azerbaijanis, I mean these are people coming from different cultural backgrounds, but still sharing the same values. And speaking a language is just the issue of convenience. This is another manifestation of tolerance - it is not only religious, it is linguistic, cultural," added Vahabov.

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