Religion

Religion

Prayer of unity performed in Heydar Mosque on â€˜Year of multiculturalismâ€

15 January 2016 16:26 (UTC +04:00)

For more than a thousand years, Sunnis and Shiites – the followers of the two major Islamic denominations – have prayed in different manners in different places.

Since the anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev’s death, Sunnis and Shiites have been praying together in Heydar Mosque. The official Sunni and Shiite imams of the mosque take turns in leading Jummah prayers on a weekly basis.

The mosque’s religious leader, Haji Sabir Hasanli, said it was an honor to show that the prayer of unity was the most beloved prayer both in Azerbaijan’s experience and international experience.

“This is the most acceptable prayer in the sight of Allah because He tells us in the Quran to unite rather than to split into sects. From this point of view, it is an honor that our people of varying denominations prayed side by side in the same mosque. Adherents of the two denominations having prayed in the same mosque and same ranks is a great achievement,” he said.

Note that, President Ilham Aliyev said in the last meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers that Azerbaijan has done a lot in the way of multiculturalism.

“The example of Azerbaijan shows that multiculturalism is living although some politicians say that it has failed. Perhaps it did somewhere, but it is living in Azerbaijan. These trends, ideas are increasing and receiving huge public support,” said the president.

Later on, the Azerbaijani president signed a decree declaring 2016 the “Year of multiculturalism”.