At a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board, accused the Armenian Church and diaspora of conducting a “destructive propaganda campaign” aimed at undermining the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“In today’s context, when the political leadership of both countries is working constructively toward peace, the Armenian Church is calling for revanchism and new confrontation,” Pashazade said, according to Report. He stressed that religious leaders have always called for dialogue and reconciliation.
The Azerbaijani cleric also briefed Guterres on Azerbaijan’s efforts to restore religious and cultural monuments in territories liberated from occupation, as well as on the country’s record of interfaith harmony and close cooperation between religion and state.
In response, Guterres invited Pashazade to take part in the upcoming UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum to be held in Saudi Arabia in December.
Separately, Pashazade extended an invitation to the UN chief to attend an international conference in Azerbaijan next year on intra-Islamic dialogue and the fight against Islamophobia, co-organized by the Muslim Council of Elders and the UN Alliance of Civilizations. Guterres recalled his previous visits to Azerbaijan as UN High Commissioner for Refugees and said he looked forward to returning.
