Incident

Incident

Chairman of Caucasian Muslims Office meets Vatican Secretary of State

08 March 2008 11:16 (UTC +04:00)

APA reports A. Pashazadeh called the inauguration of â€œVirgin Maryâ€ Catholic Church in Baku within the framework of Cardinalâ€™s visit as a remarkable event. â€œInauguration of this church reconfirms that Azerbaijan is a tolerant countryâ€, said the Chairman of Caucasian Muslims Office. Sheikhulislam Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh emphasized that all religions were respected in Azerbaijan and added that all-round conditions had been created in the country for free activity of all religions. Touching upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabagh, A. Pashazadeh stated that put forward groundless claims on so-called Armenian genocide. â€œNevertheless Armenians armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijanâ€™s territories. All religious monuments have been razed to the ground and devastated. To the Chairman of Caucasian Muslims Office, several days ago Azerbaijani people marked the 16th anniversary of Khojaly Genocide â€“ one of the worldâ€™s gravest crimes committed by Armenians against humanity. â€œThere are nearly 5 thousand bishops in the worldâ€, said A. Pashazadeh and underlined that they could also be involved in bringing Azerbaijanâ€™s realities to the notice of the international community. Providing detailed information on major repair and rehabilitation operations carried out in â€œTaza Pirâ€ Mosque, Sheikh invited Vatican Secretary of State to attend the inauguration of the Mosque.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in return expressed his satisfaction with favorable conditions created for all religious communities and highly estimated Sheikhâ€™s role in this direction. Recalling the visit of Pope John Paul II to Azerbaijan, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone stated that visit played a very significant role in the further enhancement of the relations between Azerbaijan and Vatican. In the end, Sheikh and the guest exchanged gifts.
Representatives of religious confessions operating in Azerbaijan also delivered speeches at the event and highly assessed the tolerance atmosphere in the country.