The headquarters of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) hosted the International Conference on “Interfaith Harmony: Nurturing Peaceful Coexistence”, organized on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, by ICESCO, in partnership with the State Committee for Religious Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Rabat, to discuss the role of religion in building peaceful societies and ways to address the challenges of promoting coexistence and interfaith dialogue as a tool for conflict resolution.

The conference, which saw high-level attendance led by Andre Azoulay, Advisor to His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, as well as a number of ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in Rabat, began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by a presentation by Ambassador Khalid Fathalrahman, Head of ICESCO’s Center for Civilizational Dialogue, in which he stressed the importance of this international conference in the path of establishing world peace.

In his address, Dr. Salim M. Al-Malik, ICESCO Director-General (DG), stressed that the current global developments and transformations place great responsibilities on everyone to build peace and maintain security, as the current situation requires a moment to uphold the values of human partnership, pointing out to the need to recognize the efficiency of faith and its people as peace bearers in shaping the future of humanity.

He added that ICESCO’s newly coined concept of “civilizational diplomacy” serves as a tool to resolve culturally rooted conflicts, indicating that the Organization is tirelessly working to ensure the steady progress of international peace. He also lauded Azerbaijan’s remarkable success in managing its unique diversity, commending the partnership between ICESCO and Azerbaijan.

For his part, Mr. Ramin Mammadov, Chairman of the State Committee for Religious Affairs of Azerbaijan, highlighted the great attention that Azerbaijan pays to promoting the culture of diversity, coexistence and harmony, and supporting the values of religious freedom, commending ICESCO’s efforts to promote coexistence and peace.

Rafael Huseynov, Deputy Chair, Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, stressed that the Islamic world’s civilization is a common and diverse heritage shared by many peoples, who remained united under the umbrella of civilization regardless of their different languages, religions, customs and traditions.

The first session discussed “Interreligious Harmony as a Basic Element of Sustainable Development” with the participation of experts from Egypt, Azerbaijan, Libya and Senegal. The second session tackled the “Best Practices in Religious Coexistence” with the participation of experts from Azerbaijan, Italy, Britain, and Tunisia.

ICESCO DG took the distinguished guests on a tour of the sideline exhibition “Shared Humanity, Diverse Faiths” to highlight religious diversity and tolerance in Azerbaijan.