DICID receives His Excellency Mr. Arman Isagaliev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan

20 Oct DICID receives His Excellency Mr. Arman Isagaliev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Within the framework of advancing mutual relations between the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue and diplomatic bodies of Qatar, HE Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center received HE. Mr. Arman Issagaliyev, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan of Qatar on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.

Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh AlNaimi welcomed HE. Mr. Issagaliyev and those accompanying him, and praised the distinguished cooperation between the two sides in the field of dialogue. He also stressed that the seed of dialogue that was planted in Doha about 17 years ago, and expressed his appreciation for the active Kazakh participation at the Interfaith Dialogue Conferences in Doha. The Center has been honored by the participation of scholars and religious leaders of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the upcoming conference, the Fourteenth Conference on Interfaith Dialogue, which is scheduled to be held in 2022.

Dr. Al-Naimi said: “The dialogue should not end in conference halls, whether those held in Doha, Kazakhstan, or any other parts of the world. Rather, it must be activated in the general culture, and find its resonance, in schools, universities, and societies.”

He stated that it is known that Kazakhstan is one of the most stable countries in the region, and the coexistence between religions and cultures is clear and evident, and that the city of Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) is a model capital for the modern world today, and symbolizes many cultures, a mixture of civilizations and religions all in one place.

For his part, His Excellency Ambassador Arman Issagaliyev invited Dr. Ibrahim AlNaimi to attend the Sixth Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, saying: The Congress, which was held for the first time in 2003, and has since been held every 3 years in the city of Nur-Sultan, was an initiative of His Excellency President Nur Sultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan, and the conference continues now under the auspices of the current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in order to establish dialogue between different religions, civilizations and nations in pursuit of peace.

His Excellency Ambassador Arman Issagaliyev added that the beginning of the twenty-first century had witnessed many cases of misunderstanding between religions, and therefore the conference serves to combat this, as well as to work to correct the false image that linked Muslims to terrorism, and to work to promote interfaith understanding.

It is worth noting that Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world, in which many different nationalities and religions live in harmony and peace, of whom 70% are Muslims. It is the only country among the former states of the Soviet Union that has avoided conflicts, civil wars, ethnic and religious strife, while being a multi-national, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.