Novella Jafaroglu: Every person in Azerbaijan is free to practice any religion

No other country has such religious tolerance as Azerbaijan, human rights activist Novella Jafaroglu told Report.

Speaking about religious pluralism and freedom of faith in Azerbaijan, she noted that every person in Azerbaijan is free to practice any religion.

"Though Azerbaijan has been at war with Armenia for long years, and our territories were occupied, we did not destroy their churches. On the contrary, we showed respect for their faith. Meanwhile, Armenians acted differently - they ruined our civilian, cultural and religious monuments. They used our mosques as pigsties in the occupied territories. But we taught the world a lesson of religious pluralism," she said.

According to Jafaroglu, the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology plays a vital role in forming religious pluralism in the country. The human rights activist recalled that in this university, students are taught religion in the context of interaction with science. It gives a good result and helps to prevent religious radicalism.

On April 11, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of a new administrative building of the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology, operating under the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations.

The head of state said this is a clear indicator that the effective implementation of citizens' rights to religion, conscience, and education is the focus of the country's leadership.

It was emphasized that attempts to maintain a national presence in European states had been accompanied by apparent aggressiveness in recent years. Europe, which positions itself as a model of tolerance, sees a spike in national and religious discrimination and cases of oppression of migrants and refugees. The atmosphere of tolerance and multiculturalism in Azerbaijan strengthens the authority and position of the country on an international scale.