Naira Mkrtchyan: It Is Necessary to Take Global Culture and Variety in Religions as a Form of Human Existence and Development

• 07.22.2015, 21:34
• Naira Mkrtchyan
•  World,  Armenia

The Expert of “Insight” Analytical Center for Applied Policy and Research Naira Mkrtchyan had a press conference on the topic “The Opportunities of the World Religious Leaders in Resolution of the Current Conflicts” in “Pastark” Press Club.

The 21^st century was marked by the increase of wars and conflicts. Today in a number of countries active military actions are ongoing. Conflicts in Middle East, Africa, Ukraine and other parts of the world have their impact on the world.

 “It is no longer a secret that the conflict among followers of different branches of Islam is not a religious but a political one. First of all it is a struggle for power,  for the territories rich with natural resources, only than for superiority of dogmas and  doctrines of one religion over the other. The same is the case with Islamic State and other radical Islamic groups. The leaders of those group do not hide that they pursue  the  single goal of establishing a caliphates and emirates  and very often in their struggle for power they are even ready to sacrifice  their religious beliefs,” noted N. Mkrtchyan.

Afterwards the expert informed that recently in the capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana, the Fifth Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions took place, in which she participated as a member of “Armedia” IAA team. Not only popular religious but also political actors participated in the Congress such as presidents of several countries, the chief secretaries of US, OSCE, UNESCO and etc. The main emphasis of the event was put on the dialogue between religious and political actors.

It was mentioned that the representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church also took part in the Congress activities in 2006. During the Second Congress the head of the Armenian delegation was His Holiness Garegin II. As Bishop Markos Hovhannisyan noted, who is a permanent member of the Congress Secretariat, by his participation Garegin II proved the commitment of our Church to such practical steps, while our actions proved that we are open for participation.

The choice to organize the congress in Kazakhstan is conditioned by the fact that there p 130 nations and representatives of 17 religions co-exist peacefully.

According to the expert the participation of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was a success. The UN has always underlined its secular nature, which has nothing to do with religion. While today it is becoming obvious that without religion it is impossible to reach a peace and that without religious leaders political conflict cannot be resolved.

N. Mkrtchian underlined that today number one problem for our civilization must be not to allow political conflicts to emerge because of religious  propaganda. It is necessary to take global culture and variety in religions as a form of human existence and development. All religions lead to the same God it is just they all call him in their own way. As Father of the Indian nation Mahatma Gandhi noted God has no religion. Consequently N. Mkrtchyan concluded that everything depended on political actors, on their statements and on their ways to turn to their societies.