Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Tashiri: "The regional countries should contribute to solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict"

APA
April 27 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Suleyman Farzaliyev – APA. Ayatollah Mohammed Ali Tashiri,
the chairman of the administration for inter-faith rapprochement of
the Islamic Republic of Iran gives an interview to APA.

– What are main targets of the World Religious Summit in Azerbaijan?

You know there is common issue between all divine religions,
which causes inter-religions dialogue. Representatives of different
religions come together and discuss secular and religious issues. The
conference’s agenda focuses on the issues of peace, welfare, the
family’s role in the society, truth, justice and others. It is very
valuable thing that the representatives of the different religions
make joint decisions. I think the inter-religions dialogue should
contribute to the development of cultures as well. It is in favor of
mankind. Of course, there are some obstacles created sometimes by the
participants of the inter-religions and inter-faiths dialogue. One
side doesn’t accept other officially or reject it as a divine religion
and it complicates the decision-making process. The inter-religions
dialogue held in the past 70 years were satisfactory, but it has
not been fruitful yet. I am welcoming the World Religious Summit
in Azerbaijan. The negotiations are very useful and I believe such
conferences will give a result.

– A part of lands in the world populated by Muslims like Karabakh
and Palestine are under the occupation …

-Islam is against tyranny, occupation. So are the other religions. In
general, all celestial religions cover struggle against tyranny,
support for the poor. If there is unity as a result of the
interreligious dialogue, all tyrannies will end in the world, there
will be peace everywhere. Karabakh should be released from occupation
peacefully, displaced persons should return to their native lands.

Karabakh conflict should be solved through negotiations and the support
of the regional states. All peace loving people of the world should
help solve this problem. Palestinian lands, Iraq and Afghanistan
should be freed from the occupation of the US and Zionism.

Hundreds of people die every day. Children, the old were killed
atrociously in Karabakh. It can not go on like this.

-How do you assess the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan?

-Iran and Azerbaijan have common history. Our cultural, religious,
political, commercial and social relations have ancient history. We
love Azerbaijan very much as a Muslim country. We have good relations
with sheikh-ul-islam Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh. Thanks to the
efforts of both presidents there is peace and friendship between our
states. There is no discontent in the religious sphere between the
two countries. Our relations have always been based on humane and
moral values. I hope our relations will develop in all spheres and
our people will cooperate in the atmosphere of peace and friendship.