Question: Undoubtedly, for centuries Kazakhstan has been a multi-ethnic country in which multiculturalism and interfaith harmony maintain national unity. Would you please elaborate on numerous initiatives of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year?
Answer: A brief digression into history shows that the Republic of Kazakhstan is a unique state, united on its hospitable land and playing a crucial role for representatives of different ethnic groups and faiths.
Kazakhstan between Asia and Europe, West and East has become a center of harmonious intersection of different languages, traditions, and cultures.
Being in the heart of the giant Eurasian continent, Kazakhstan borders all the major civilizations of the planet. For many centuries, representatives of different religions and ethnic groups have been living in peace and harmony on the ancient Kazakh land, working and educating the younger generation. We perceive these age-old traditions and the continuity of generations of Kazakhstanis as grace, as naturalness, and as a pattern.
In this regard, I would like to quote the words of our President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the opening ceremony of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions: “Our ancient land has been a connecting bridge between East and West for thousands of years. Here, in the Great Steppe, the heart of huge nomadic empires beat, part of the cultural code of which was invariably religious tolerance”.
All these prerequisites characterize contemporary Kazakh society by its richest multinational, multi-confessional, and multicultural way of life.
The initiatives of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions for twenty years of its active work give new impulses in the formation of a culture of mutual understanding and respect in societies and states.
Initiative of the First Congress – construction of the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. The official opening of the Palace took place on September 1, 2006. Over the years, the Pyramid has become the pride of Astana and Kazakhstan, a landmark of the entire Central Asian region. Five Congresses and twenty meetings of the Congress Secretariats were held in its spacious and bright halls.
The main initiative of the Second Congress was – the adoption of the document entitled “Principles of Interreligious Dialogue” as a reflection of the common understanding of the universal principles of dialogue by spiritual hierarchs.
In addition, the participants of the Fifth Congress initiated the creation of a Museum of Peace and Harmony, whose mission is to popularize the historical heritage of the Congress and the role of the Republic of Kazakhstan in promoting interreligious dialogue in modern society.
The acceptance of the document “The Concept of Development of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions for 2023-2033” was initiated at the Seventh Congress. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to reflect in the Concept the concrete steps and stages of further strengthening the influence of the Congress in overcoming the contradictions of the modern world in the name of the well-being of all mankind.
Summarizing the above, we emphasize that the key importance of the seven Congresses of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions is the constant search for common ground, the expansion of zones of harmony and trust between peoples and civilizations, the initiation of coordinated projects and programs imbued with the principles of the Astana interreligious dialogue and global humanism.
The initiatives of spiritual hierarchs and their ideas, in other words, are a long-term way to popularize and promote the priorities of inter-civilizational, interreligious, and interfaith dialogue aimed at strengthening peace and harmony, stability, and security in the world.
Question: Excellency, your esteemed Centre was specifically built to promote societal cohesion, ethnic diversity, and harmony among all religions, faiths, and ethnic entities in the country. Please tell us about the goals and objectives of the Center.
Answer: The idea of creating the N. Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Intercivilization Dialogue was initiated by the participants of the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in October 2018.
The Center, being a working body of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and the Secretariat of the Congress, carries out its activities to promote the goals and objectives of the forum.
In addition, it should be noted that during the inter-congress period, the Center actively implements a consistent policy for the further development of dialogue and interaction with international religious organizations and institutions to popularize the unique Kazakh model of interreligious harmony, ideas, and decisions of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its final document – the Declaration.
At the same time, the work of the Center is also aimed at analyzing the state and dynamics of the development of the religious situation in the world, the main issues and trends in the development of the religious situation in Kazakhstan and the world, religious studies expertise, research of topical issues in the field of religion and state-confessional relations in the country. These expert-analytical materials, methodological manuals, and recommendations have an applied nature and contribute to solving practical issues in the industry.
Currently, the Center together with the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan is preparing to organize the XXI meeting of the Congress Secretariat, which will be held in Astana on October 10-11 this year under the leadership of the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Head of the Congress Secretariat Maulen Ashimbayev.
The work of the XXI Secretariat is expected to involve religious leaders of the world and traditional religions from Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Daoism, and Shintoism.
Question: The Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions is a unique dialogue platform to achieve mutual trust and respect between religions and nationalities. What is the role of religious leaders in the modern world?
Answer: Over the years of diplomatic relations between our countries, Kazakhstan and Pakistan have established constructive cooperation based on full mutual understanding and cooperation.
It is worth noting that Pakistan has always actively supported Kazakhstan’s initiatives in matters of global dialogue and participates in meetings of seven Congresses of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its institutions, such as the Congress Secretariat and its Working Group.
Moreover, much work has been done during the international conferences, and round tables with the participation of Pakistani partners of the Center.
2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the convocation of the first Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana. This is the 20th anniversary of the fruitful work of the Congress participants for the benefit of peace and harmony.
The experience of this large-scale dialogue strengthens spiritual leaders to actively pursue various peacemaking initiatives. Spiritual leaders are the guardians of the conscience of humanity. Therefore, who better than them can show the way to mutual trust, goodness, and peace?
We also can see that, while politicians argue, spiritual leaders desire and seek to draw closer together. This is a pivotal trend. It is the efforts and dialogue of spiritual leaders that can eventually show humanity a way out of the current confrontation.
Last year, our country held the Seventh Congress of Religious Leaders. It was attended by about 100 delegations from 50 countries, including representatives of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Daoism, Jainism and Baha’i.
The Congress was attended by spiritual leaders of our time – the Head of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican Pope Francis, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel David Lau, Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Joseph and others.
Following the results of the Congress the DECLARATION was adopted, the ideology and content of which reflects the entire spectrum of the vision of current problems of the modern era, possible ways to resolve them, as well as the intentions of the leaders of the world and traditional religions, their appeal to the international community.
“I am proud that for 20 years, Kazakhstan has been hosting the triennial Congress of Religious Leaders.
Over the past two decades, the Congress became a platform for inter-civilizational dialogue at the global level,” – the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted in his article in the Israeli newspaper “The Jerusalem Post”.
Through its commitment to religious tolerance and human rights, Kazakhstan sets an example for the world, showcasing the importance of interfaith dialogue in creating a more peaceful and harmonious global society.
Religious leaders have a significant influence on global affairs. Moreover, the sacred value of human life, mutual support, and the rejection of destructive rivalry and hostility are a set of principles shared by all religions. As a result, I am convinced that these principles can form the basis of a new world system.
