Azerbaijan discloses number of non-Muslim religious communities

Some 38 non-Muslim religious communities have received official registration in Azerbaijan.

Chairman of State Committee for Work with Religious Structures Mubariz Gurbanli made the remarks at the conference "Challenges and prospects of coexistence in the modern era", Report informs.

He stressed that Azerbaijan is a multi-confessional country: "Our Constitution has provisions concerning freedom of religion, speech and conscience. Today, 38 non-Muslim religious communities are officially registered in Azerbaijan. Muslims, Christians, Jews and representatives of other religious communities coexist in Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev also pays special attention to this issue," he said.

In a statement made on June 18 on the occasion of National Human Rights Day, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry described Azerbaijan as a global model of tolerance and peaceful coexistence of different religious and ethnic groups.

“Azerbaijan is considered an example of tolerance, peaceful coexistence of representatives of various religious and ethnic groups in the world. Within the framework of the Baku Process initiated by Azerbaijan in 2008, numerous World Forums on Intercultural Dialogue, Baku International Humanitarian Forum and other international events were held in our country," the ministry said.

To recap, for the first time in history, Azerbaijan, being a country with a Muslim majority (over 90 per cent), contributed to the restoration of Christian monuments in the Vatican and other Christian countries.

Azerbaijan ensured the restoration of the catacombs of St Marcellinus, St Peter and St Sebastian in the Vatican. It also funded the restoration of Notre Dame in France.

The country, which has always been distinguished by religious tolerance, is committed to its values of multiculturalism and the preservation of religious monuments both in Azerbaijan and abroad.