Azerbaijan’s long history of coexistence among different ethnic groups and religious communities was at the centre of discussions at the opening of the 7th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku on October 27. Held under the theme "Dialogue for a Shared Future," the forum brought renewed attention to the country’s approach to cultural diversity and its efforts to promote dialogue between different societies. Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan’s geographical position between Europe and Asia had made it a cultural bridge between the two continents for centuries.
He also stressed that multiculturalism, religious tolerance and ethnic harmony were deeply rooted in the country’s history and remained important to its development today. According to the president, social harmony has been one of the main reasons behind Azerbaijan’s stable development. He pointed to the country’s shared national identity, known as Azerbaijanism, which brings together the different peoples living in the country.
The head of state also recalled the period of Armenia’s military aggression and occupation, including the Second Garabagh War, saying that people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds had stood together in defence of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Their unity, symbolised by the "Iron Fist," demonstrated the strength of the country’s social cohesion, he noted. The development of intercultural and inter-civilizational dialogue is one of the main directions of Azerbaijan's foreign policy, and the country has several concrete achievements to show it.
One of them is a term that has entered the political vocabulary - the "Baku Process." The initiative was first put forward by President Ilham Aliyev at the Conference of Ministers of Culture of European and neighboring countries, held in Baku on December 2-3, 2008, under the theme "Intercultural dialogue as the basis for sustainable development and peace in Europe and its neighboring regions." The initiative continued to develop in the following years. In 2009, at a meeting of culture ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Azerbaijan invited representatives of the Council of Europe’s member states to participate. This reciprocal engagement helped establish the Baku Process as a platform connecting countries and institutions from different cultural and religious backgrounds.
Speaking at the opening of the 3rd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku in May 2015, President Aliyev recalled how the initiative had begun with the participation of Islamic countries in a meeting organised by the Council of Europe and subsequently expanded to include European countries in discussions within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Religious diversity through the centuries The historical roots of Azerbaijani multiculturalism can be traced to the presence of different religious traditions long before the spread of Islam. Zoroastrianism occupies an important place in the country’s pre-monotheistic history.
One of its central teachings is the struggle between good and evil, in which human beings have a responsibility to help good prevail. Personal conduct and the way people live are considered essential to this struggle, alongside religious observances. Fire holds a central place in Zoroastrian rituals, while the Avesta serves as the religion’s sacred text.
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