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Baku Declaration adopted at 7th Meeting of OTS Muslim religious leaders

14 September 2026 11:27 (UTC +04:00)

The Baku Declaration has been adopted at the 7th Meeting of Muslim religious leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), APA reports.

The declaration was read out by the First Deputy Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims’ Office, Salman Musayev.

It was stated that the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Administrations of the OTS, based on the norms of international law and the principles of the OTS, continues to make joint efforts to prevent trends of terrorism, extremism, separatism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, Turkophobia, takfirism, inter-sectarian discrimination, and calls for hatred.

It was noted that the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Administrations of the OTS seeks to use the potential of Turkic-Islamic spirituality and culture to strengthen peace and prosperity in the world, promote its values worldwide and educate young people; assists in organizing joint scientific conferences and establishing religious centers to improve religious education and national self-awareness; promotes exchanges of students, teachers, literature and experience, as well as the development of religious and scientific research, in order to pass traditional spiritual values on to the new generation; directs its activities toward developing relevant joint projects for the development, enrichment and effectiveness of Turkic-Islamic culture; and continues work on jointly determining the initial dates of national and religious significant days, particularly Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, taking into account specific characteristics, and, most importantly, developing common fatwas that serve the principles of moderate Islam and inter-sectarian understanding.

It was also emphasized that the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Administrations of the OTS, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, cooperates in the promotion and protection of human rights, including the rights of women and children, seeks to hold religious and educational events among women, youth and children in accordance with Turkic-Islamic spiritual and moral values, to conduct mutual exchanges in this field, and to create conditions for educating women and the younger generation in the religious sphere in accordance with the requirements of the time; continues its joint efforts to prevent cases of external interference in the religious and spiritual environment of the Turkic states, harmful propaganda, sectarianism and any ideological provocations; continues cooperation in translating religious literature and religious studies into the languages of the Turkic states and promoting them in accordance with legislation and national traditions, exchanging and developing relevant methodologies and tools, and organizing joint training seminars, conferences, symposiums and other events for this purpose; promotes cooperation in studying the history of the Turkic world and instilling it in younger generations, as well as seeks to organize joint visits and tours to religious and historical sites in OTS member countries and promote them internationally.

They highly appreciate the valuable contribution of OTS Secretary General, His Excellency Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev, to the activities of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Administrations of the Organization of Turkic States and, taking into account the completion of his term of office, wish him success in his future activities.

The heads of delegations express their deep gratitude to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and the Government of Azerbaijan for the high-level organization of the 7th Meeting and the sincere hospitality extended to all participants, as well as to the Secretariat of the Organization of Turkic States for its valuable contribution to the preparation and coordination process.

Adopted and signed in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, on September 14, 2026. The document was drawn up in one copy in English and submitted to the Secretariat of the Organization of Turkic States for safekeeping.

Toghrul Guluzade

Organization of Turkic States OTS Baku Declaration Muslim religious leaders Salman Musayev Caucasus Muslims’ Office Turkic-Islamic culture religious cooperation