CONGRESS OF WORLD RELIGIONS ENDED IN ASTANA

Congress of world religions and traditional national religions ended in Astana. The Forum was attended by 18 delegations representing these religions. Among the participants were such famous religious figures as Secretary General of the World Islamic League Sheik Abdulla ben Abdulmohsin At-Turki, vice-president of International Islamic University Dr Mahmud Ahmad Gazi, representative of Vatican, cardinal Joseph Timko, and Secretary General of World Lutheran Union Dr. Ishmael Nino.

Participants of the Forum assessed as a high achievement the fact that the representatives of Islam and Judaism for the first time have gathered and has a dialogue.

Delegates of the Congress expressed an idea on setting an organization, uniting the heads of religious confessions. President N. Nazarbayev acknowledged this idea and proposed to place the headquarters of the Organization in the capital of Kazakhstan. At his words, Astana is the most favorable place for this.

At the Congress, was adopted a final document - Declaration and resolution. President Nazarbayev in his remark said: ‘ideas of peace and justice that found their reflection in the Declaration will be foundation for our future mutual activity’.

Participants adopted a decision to hold the second congress in Kazakhstan, too, and decided to call it the ‘Congress of leaders of the world confessions and traditional religions’.