Azerbaijan has always been known as a land of multiculturalism and a multiethnic country. Nearly 40 minorities and ethnic groups live in the Land of Fire in an atmosphere of constant peace, mutual respect and political stability. Only cooperation and respect for each other's lifestyle, traditions, customs and religion define our future.
All this and the stable and continuously peaceful development and life in Azerbaijan – the historical homeland of all these nationalities – would not have been possible without a very important and significant factor: the wise domestic policy of the government and personally, President Ilham Aliyev. The main target of this domestic policy is above all to fulfill the dreams and wishes of representatives of all national, ethnic and religious groups in Azerbaijan.Despite the fact that most of the Azerbaijani population has a Turkic – not Turkish – background and ethnicity – and is Muslims by religion, this land has never seen any conflicts or tensions about who belongs to which nation or religion.
The history of the policy of mutual respect and the idea that Azerbaijan is the country, motherland and homeland of all citizens of all our national and religious groups and confessions began after Heydar Aliyev, the father of the current President Ilham Aliyev, returned to power in 1993.
Azerbaijan had already become an independent and sovereign republic. The National Leader of Azerbaijan and the savior of our statehood, Heydar Aliyev, chose the most perfect and righteous way of running the country: the non-dominant position of any ethnic group and instead, the domination of one ideology – the ideology of Azerbaijanism. This wise policy covers the idea of Azerbaijan being the homeland of all our traditional national and ethnic groups – Azerbaijani Turks, Talishs, Lezgins, Avars, Jews, Russians and others.
Heydar Aliyev passed away in 2003 after ruling the country with boundless wisdom, justice and courage for 10 years. His son Ilham Aliyev, who was elected President, picked up the baton.
The new President underlined that he would be faithful to the political course and legacy of his father – the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people.
This policy also includes commitment to the policy of the previous Leader in the sphere of national and interethnic issues: the renovation and restoration of the Saint Elisaeus Church in the village of Nij in Qabala – the historical village of the ancient Udin people, the construction and renovation of synagogues of our Jewish population, the construction of Orthodox churches in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region with the aim of reviving the legacy of the Orthodox people in areas destroyed during the nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation before all these territories were liberated in 2020.
Dozens of various congresses and conferences dedicated to multicultural peace and cooperation held in Azerbaijan over the past 20 years are a vivid indicator of Azerbaijan's desire and intention to preserve the unique atmosphere that has formed in our country over the past 30 years due to the wise leadership of National Leader Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham Aliyev, the current President of Azerbaijan.
The significant role of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan – First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva – also has to be underlined here. Mehriban Aliyeva, being an exemplary wife and mother, has made an enormous contribution to the development of various aspects of multiculturalism in Azerbaijan, representing our country in the best form in front of the world community as a model of tolerance, interethnic peace, brotherhood and mutual understanding.
The liberation war of 2020 once again vividly demonstrated the level of interethnic brotherhood and unity in Azerbaijan. Tens of hundreds of young citizens of Azerbaijan from all regions of the country, including national regions in the north and south of the republic, enthusiastically responded to the state's call to take up arms and stand up for our multinational country.
This could only be possible in a country that has provided its citizens of all nationalities with equal rights and freedoms, where all people are convinced that they are full-fledged citizens and full members of a community named free, independent and democratic Azerbaijan.
The article themed "Religious and national tolerance, development of interethnic relations" was published with the support of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MEDIA)
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