It Happened in Kazakhstan
Professor Michel Abs
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
It happened in Kazakhstan that a people decided to establish a state that respects beliefs, laws, and human rights, and thus the State of Kazakhstan was born.
It happened in Kazakhstan that a nation made up of one hundred and twenty religious and ethnic groups chose to become one people, embracing the social contract and entrusting its destiny and future to institutions, the only guarantee for peoples in the modern age.
It happened in Kazakhstan that a nation became aware of its past, understood it, reconciled with it, learned from its lessons, and made it a foundation for its future, drawing from it values and incentives for a better life.
It happened in Kazakhstan that a people wanted to share their experience with the world, driven by a concern for bringing people, beliefs, identities, and affiliations closer together, for the sake of a future for humanity not threatened by destructive and futile conflicts.
It happened in Kazakhstan that the desire to share the results of social and cultural experiences with humanity was so strong that it went beyond the borders of the country, reaching a global dimension.
It happened in Kazakhstan that a state with active institutions sought to institutionalize its experience in order to make it universal, thus came the Eighth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held this year. Institutionalization is the guarantee of continuity and sustainability, based on the experience of a state with successful institutions.
In Kazakhstan, “the Land of the Free”, at the invitation of the highest authority in the country, one hundred and fifty religious leaders from around the world gathered to affirm one indisputable human principle: dialogue.
The eighth congress was titled “Interfaith Dialogue: Synergy for the Future.” Its themes addressed the challenges of religions in the age of modernity, marked by global migrations and exodus, as well as the dominance of the digital world over our culture.
The first day focused on the protection of religious sites, in partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, where the world’s religious leaders expressed and pledged the necessity of protecting all religious sites without exception or reservation, an explicit indication of the absence of any eliminatory tendency among followers of one faith toward those of another.
This was followed by the opening of the congress in a general session throughout the second day, where participants shared their perspectives, continuing the spirit of the previous sessions of this blessed congress.
Specialized sessions then took place, with well-prepared topics addressing essential human concerns: the role of religions in human solidarity, the role of religions in sustainable global development, spiritual values in the digital age and artificial intelligence, and faith against extremism, that is, the capacity of religions to build peace. Youth also had a prominent place in the discussions, with a dedicated session for young religious leaders on their role in peaceful coexistence and unity for the future.
The recommendations were in line with expectations and met the challenges of the stage, followed by concluding remarks.
We will not dwell here on two elements that clearly marked this congress: hospitality and organization. The first is self-evident for the kind and welcoming Kazakh people; the second is natural for the well-structured and efficient Kazakh state.
It happened in Kazakhstan that people, nations, and religions who might never have met otherwise, came together thanks to the initiative of an enlightened state, religious and ethnic groups otherwise estranged, either by differences in belief or by distances of geography.
It happened in Kazakhstan that bringing people closer to one another embodied the words of Jesus Christ in His Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”