GUSAR, Azerbaijan, July 16. The main objectives of Azerbaijan’s state policy on religion are to preserve national and spiritual values, strengthen religious tolerance, solidarity, and social stability, expand digitalization in this sphere, and intensify educational activities, said Ramin Mammadov, chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Religious Affairs, Trend’s correspondent reports from the event.
Mammadov made the remark during a speech at a conference titled “Coverage of Religious Issues in the Media: Shared Responsibility for Maintaining Religious Stability,” held in Gusar.
He noted that the current era is characterized by both new challenges and broad opportunities, and the State Committee’s activities are shaped with these realities in mind.
Furthermore, Mammadov emphasized that the documentary film presented at the conference’s opening, the AMIN information system, which is part of the Committee’s digitalization policy, and the “A Library in Every Mosque” project, although they appear to cover different areas, are in fact part of a unified strategic approach.
According to him, these initiatives represent a modern, innovative, and future-oriented implementation of state policy in the religious sphere, consistently carried out under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
The Committee Chair emphasized that the projects currently being implemented are aimed at preserving national and spiritual values, strengthening religious tolerance, solidarity, and social stability, digitizing government structures, and developing educational initiatives.
“Overall, the main goal of these projects is to demonstrate that Azerbaijan’s unique state policy in the religious sphere and the principles of secularism complement one another,” he said.
R. Mammadov noted that the film is an artistic and visual presentation reflecting the history and current state of religious and social stability, as well as religious diversity in Azerbaijan. According to him, since journalists closely follow these processes, most of the facts depicted in the film are well known to them.
According to the Committee chairman, the successful implementation of Azerbaijan’s state policy in the religious sphere is due to the high regard that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev holds for religious denominations, the religious community, and national and spiritual values.
He added that promoting these values is of great importance not only within the country but also at the international level.
“In this regard, the work of the President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, is of exceptional importance, and each of us holds it in high regard,” R. Mammadov emphasized.
The Committee Chair stated that the “AMIN” information system is a prime example of the implementation of the government’s digitalization policy in the sphere of state-religion relations.
“We have set ourselves the goal of digitizing all our services through this platform. The system will improve access to services, enable the public to receive reliable and accurate information, and become one of the key tools in the fight against disinformation and fake news,” he said.
Mammadov noted that another project presented, the “A Library in Every Mosque” initiative, also serves to revive the historical traditions of the Enlightenment.
“In Azerbaijan, mosques have historically been not only places of worship but also centers of science and education. As a result of various historical and political processes, this tradition has weakened to some extent. The project we are implementing aims to revive this tradition of the Enlightenment in accordance with the demands of the modern era and to reintroduce it into society,” the Committee Chairman said.
According to him, the public feedback received during the project’s implementation and the improvements made indicate that this initiative is generating significant interest among the public.
R. Mammadov noted that meetings with media representatives in this format have already become a tradition.
“Our first meeting is taking place in Shusha, the second in Shamakhi, and the third in Gusar. We plan to continue holding similar meetings in other regions in the near future,” he said.
The committee chair thanked the executive branch of the Gusar District for organizing the event and for their hospitality.
He emphasized that Gusar is one of the regions that is always considered in the context of state-religion policy.
“This is due not only to the region’s sensitivity but also to its religious and ethnic diversity. Although certain challenges exist here, we, as a government body and an institution that regulates state policy in the religious sphere, see opportunities first and foremost. We believe that, together with local executive authorities, community representatives, and religious leaders, we are capable of preventing any potential religiously motivated threats in this region and ensuring that such situations do not arise in the future,” Ramin Mammadov added.
