The Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board, Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade, met with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, one of the most influential Jewish religious figures in the United States and the world, at the Park East Synagogue complex in New York as part of his visit to the US.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Sheikhulislam conveyed the greetings of the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and First Vice-President, Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva, to Rabbi Arthur Schneier. During the sincere meeting, held in the spirit of nearly half a century of friendship and cooperation between the CMB Chairman and the head of the Foundation, issues related to interreligious dialogue in the modern era were discussed.

Rabbi Schneier expressed his joy that the current meeting took place during a remarkably significant period – at the time of the signing of a peace document between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the expectation of peace being established in the Middle East, and the celebration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. A. Schneier voiced his particular satisfaction regarding the recent signing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace protocol at the White House with the participation of the US President, the President of Azerbaijan, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, and offered prayers for the establishment and sustainability of peace in the South Caucasus, Palestine, Gaza, and also in Ukraine in the near future.

Sheikhulislam A. Pashazade highlighted that Rabbi A. Schneier has always supported truth and justice before and after the Patriotic War, which brought a historic victory to Azerbaijan, thus contributing to the establishment of peace in the region, and offered thanks on behalf of the Azerbaijani faithful and personally.

Rabbi A. Schneier fondly recalled his many years of cooperation with Sheikhulislam A. Pashazade and his meetings with the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev.

Emphasizing that their moral mission before the Almighty Creator, as religious leaders, is to serve peace, Rabbi A. Schneier drew attention to the necessity of continuing the dialogue platform between the religious leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia. In this regard, the CMB Chairman noted that in the current situation, where the political leaderships of the two countries are striving towards peace-building in a constructive atmosphere of cooperation, the Armenian Church and the Armenian diaspora are carrying out destructive propaganda with all their might to disrupt this process. "It is strange, usually politicians instigate wars, causing conflicts and confrontations, while religious figures call for peace. Now, the picture we see is completely the opposite – the political leaderships are taking steps towards peace, while the Armenian Church still does not want to put down the 'Kalashnikov' it holds," the Sheikhulislam noted.

A. Pashazade informed Rabbi Schneier about the large-scale reconstruction and restoration work currently underway in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, and the implementation of the Great Return. "All religious temples in our liberated territories—mosques, churches, including religious objects of Armenian origin—are being repaired, regardless of their origin." Sheikhulislam A. Pashazade emphasized that the whole world is witnessing that His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev and the First Vice-President of our country, Mehriban Aliyeva, are patrons of high moral values, and that Christian and Jewish religious monuments in Azerbaijan are traditionally approached with attention and care.

A. Schneier, in turn, highly appreciated the multicultural and tolerant environment in Azerbaijan.

Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN and High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, who attended the meeting, greeted Rabbi Schneier and Sheikhulislam A. Pashazade as world-scale religious leaders and expressed his satisfaction at participating in this meeting. He noted that Azerbaijan is pioneering in the international interreligious dialogue process, in the fight against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and Christianophobia, and welcomed the special role of the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, in this regard.

Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the US, Khazar Ibrahim, participated in the meeting.

Press Service of the Caucasus Muslims Board