Interreligious tolerance and harmony is a guarantee of sustainable development of society

SHARE WITH FRIENDS:

 INTERRELIGION TOLERANCE AND HARMONY - TOTALAT GUARANTEE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

 Topic: Interreligious tolerance and harmony is a guarantee of sustainable development of society.

                                                    Plan:

Introduction

1. The role of religious tolerance in the development of society

2. Interreligious harmony as a universal value in Uzbekistan

3. Interreligious harmony and intercultural communication: the experience of Uzbekistan

Conclusion

Since ancient times, religion reflects the spiritual values ​​necessary for humanity, serving to realize the ideals of goodness, kindness, purity, honesty, friendship and brotherhood. The fact that many national values ​​continue to live unscathed is also related to these features of religion. All religions in the world are based on the idea of ​​goodness. they encourage people to be correct, pure, compassionate and tolerant, they call them not to hurt others, to refrain from bad deeds, not to fall into lust and go astray.

The idea of ​​religious tolerance calls for cooperation among all religions, realizing these common principles, and thus achieving the celebration of justice, which is the dream of all mankind.

        Interfaith tolerance It is said that the people of different religions and sects should respect and understand each other's beliefs and live as partners and in harmony on the path of noble ideas and intentions on a single land, a single homeland.

Today, in order to achieve inter-religious tolerance, cultural communication and cooperation in the way of goodness are being established between them. In particular, the dangers facing humanity in the next century - the danger of nuclear war, ecological catastrophes, terrorism and religious extremism - urge religions to unite and cooperate in order to preserve our planet, which is one for all people. Concepts such as goodness, friendship and brotherhood, compassion form the essence of all religions. It is these concepts that serve as a common ground that invites representatives of different religions to dialogue and cooperation. Today, humanity is realizing this truth more and more deeply.

The idea of ​​religious tolerance serves to establish friendly relations between peoples and people who believe in different religions and sects in a particular society, and to mobilize their strength and talent for creative work.

This idea, which is an important condition for peace and stability, implies the cooperation of not only religious people, but also members of the entire society, and is one of the important factors for achieving harmony.

          Society is a set of all forms of association of people and all methods of their interaction and interaction.

          Since the beginning of society, religion is one of the most important social factors. The interpretation of religion as a social phenomenon means that it fulfills its real tasks in the life of society and meets certain requirements. Religion as a social phenomenon is considered as an objective factor, which externally and necessarily affects people as any public institution. Religion has several functions in society. According to some authors, one of the important functions of religion is the control function[1]. Religion also influences people's behavior as another form of public consciousness. Religion performs this function based on the creation of a certain system of values ​​and norms. The management of human behavior is also influenced by religious prayers that form customs and traditions. He adapts the system of spiritual and moral values, ceremonies and rituals to his standards. The viability of the control function is inevitable. Within the framework of the existing function, the foundations of religious ethics have been created over the centuries.

          The second important function of religion is the cohesive (integrative) function.

          The integrative function of religion is to unite members of society - social origin,

regardless of the characteristics such as status, nationality - a unifying force

is manifested in the fact that Integrative or functionalist approach

According to E. Durkheim, one of the founders, religion, like glue, serves to unite people on the basis of universal values, beliefs, customs and traditions, turning them into a whole. E. Durkheim pays particular attention to the issue of religious worship. According to him, religion unites society through worship, prepares a person for social life and encourages obedience, strengthens social integrity, supports traditions, and creates satisfaction in a person.[2]

          In order to fully realize these functions, universal human values ​​such as unity, harmony, and mutual respect should be formed in the society. Religious tolerance is crucial in the formation of such values. Especially in multi-ethnic countries, inter-religious harmony and religious tolerance is one of the primary factors for the development of society.

          It is no secret that religious tolerance plays a unique role in the development of society. There are several reasons for this. For the stable development of society and the provision of peaceful life in it, the state must pay special attention not only to the inviolability of borders, but also to religious tolerance in order to prevent ethnic conflicts within the country. Because the most dangerous and rapidly escalating conflicts are religious and ethnic conflicts. Their solution may take a long time.

          Many societies consist of several ethnic groups and nations. Naturally, their religions are also different. The most important thing in such societies is that people show tolerance towards each other, show religious tolerance, respect the customs and traditions of other peoples living in the same area, which is the basis for the development of this society.

Otherwise, individuals cannot enter into economic, political, cultural and other relations with each other. This situation can lead to the freezing of the society at some point.

           One of the most urgent problems of the world is the idea of ​​tolerance between nations and religions. Around this concept, the need to unite all the peoples of the world was born. Because only tolerance protects the world from destruction and future tragedies. Therefore, UNESCO adopted the "Declaration of Principles of Tolerance" in Paris in 1995. Since 1996, the United Nations has declared November 16 as the "Day of Tolerance". In this declaration, special emphasis is placed on the social aspects of religious tolerance. Specifically, it states: “Tolerance is more important today than ever. We live in an age of economic globalization, rapid development of communication tools, integration and interconnection, large-scale migration and population displacement, urbanization and reshaping of social structures. Every region is diverse, and therefore the rise of intolerance and conflict threatens all parts of the world. Because this threat is global in nature, it cannot be confined within national borders."[3].

           Concepts such as interreligious harmony, religious tolerance, and freedom of conscience are interrelated. The issue of freedom of conscience has always been an important and complex phenomenon in social life. Therefore, it is based on great social, political, legal and moral concepts such as the right of the individual, democracy, justice and humanity. Therefore, the role of this issue in social life and the tasks it performs are extremely important. Freedom of conscience is expressed in all international documents and treaties, starting from the Charter of the United Nations, in the constitutions and laws of all countries. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on December 1948, 10, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes the freedom to change one's religion or belief, the guarantee to practice one's religion or belief alone and in association with others, and the freedom to participate in worship and religious ceremonies individually or together with others. z opens. In particular, in this regulatory document: Every person, without any discrimination, regardless of race, language, gender, religion, political views, national or social origin, financial status, class, and other circumstances, is entitled to all the rights declared in this Declaration. should have rights and freedoms[4].

           In addition, this issue is another complex phenomenon - different worldviews,

It also provides for the practical legal provision of relations between people of faith, between the state and religion, and between religious organizations and the state. After all, people have always lived and lived with different worldviews and beliefs. Everyone has their own inner world, their own beliefs.

      Freedom of conscience is not some abstract concept, it is necessarily manifested in a certain social situation. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine it without concrete historical and social conditions, objective and subjective factors.

           Article 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan states that "Freedom of conscience is guaranteed for everyone. Everyone has the right to believe in whatever religion they want or not to believe in any religion. Forced indoctrination of religious views is not allowed. So, to believe in religion or not is a personal matter of everyone.

           The territory of Uzbekistan has long been distinguished as a multi-ethnic country that believes in different religions. Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have lived freely in our country. According to historical sources, the fact that there were no religious conflicts in our country indicates that our people have a lot of experience in religious tolerance. Historical conditions and processes show that the principles of tolerance in the literal sense of the word have been steadily formed on this land, as a result of which a peaceful, peaceful life, scientific and educational growth, and development have been ensured.

            In the works of scholars who have grown up in our country, we can find the ideas of religious tolerance. For example, Allama Abu Mansur al-Moturudi's book "Tilawat Ahli Sunna" interprets one of the holy verses of the Qur'an and says, "Destroying churches and synagogues is prohibited." That is why they have been preserved in Muslim countries until this time. "There is no disagreement among scholars on this issue."
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the ambassador of Castile, who was in Temur's palace, testified that Temur would gather representatives of different religions in Samarkand, show favors to them, and appoint a person in charge to fulfill the various needs of the guests who believe in the Christian religion. He appoints to strengthen friendly relations with them.

            Since ancient times, religion has embodied most of the national values. The fact that national values ​​have been living in such a state for centuries is also related to this nature of religion. Because all religions in the world are based on the ideals of goodness, they rely on virtues such as goodness, peace, friendship. He calls people to honesty, purity, kindness and tolerance.
With the honor of independence, Uzbekistan, home to more than 130 nationalities and peoples, has created favorable conditions for the comfortable living of representatives of different religions, nationalities and peoples. and representatives of the directions are living a peaceful, peaceful and prosperous life.
In the conditions of independence, interethnic harmony and interconfessional cooperation were established in our country due to the consistent and strict policy in the field of ethnic relations and religion. The principle that "all citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan have the same rights and freedoms and are equal before the law regardless of gender, race, nationality, religion, social origin, faith, personality and social status" is stated in our constitution. and its strengthening serves as the legal basis for the work in this regard.
National values ​​play an important role in the development of tolerance. Tolerance is not allowing the representatives of the nationalities to be discriminated against by the representatives of other nationalities, to live a peaceful and prosperous life with them. The feeling of tolerance determines the behavior of a person, morals, political-spiritual purity, the wealth of his people and national heritage, and his attitude to national values. These characteristics awaken the feelings of tolerance and internationalism in every person.
Today, 2224 of the 175 religious organizations operating in our republic are non-Islamic, of which 159 are Christian, 8 are Jewish, 6 are Baha'i, 1 is the Society of Krishna Consciousness, and 1 is Buddhist. In addition, the Inter-Confessional Bible Society is also operating in the Republic.
In Uzbekistan, there are religious organizations related to the three main branches of Christianity: Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. Also, the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has its own direction in Christianity, is also active.
It is recognized by the world community that the high traditions of religious tolerance are being followed in Uzbekistan.
In the words of the President, "Today, in such a dangerous, dangerous and extremely turbulent period, when the world financial crisis is still ongoing, no matter what results our country achieves, all these things are becoming stronger in our country. I think there will be no mistake if we say peace and tranquility, harmony and harmony between nations, religions and citizens, mutual respect and respect."
In fact, every person, society and nation should be tolerant, recognizing the customs, culture and values ​​of different regions of humanity. After all, this is the guarantee of development.

           Inter-religious harmony helps to bring about inter-ethnic harmony. The idea of ​​international harmony is a universal value that determines the national development of regions and countries where different peoples live together, and serves as a guarantee of peace and stability in this place. The population of all countries in the world is divided into 2 groups according to their national composition. The first are mono-ethnic (the population consists mainly of representatives of one nationality) and the second are poly-ethnic (multi-ethnic) states.

            As we all know, the population of Uzbekistan belongs to the second group according to the national structure, among the countries with a multi-ethnic population. Currently, representatives of 136 nationalities and peoples live in Uzbekistan. Uzbeks make up 80 percent of the population of our republic. Each nation has its own values ​​along with common interests. Harmonizing the interests of different nationalities and ensuring harmony among them is one of the decisive factors of development in a multi-ethnic country like Uzbekistan. That is why our country has been paying great attention to this issue since the first days of independence.

            President Islam Karimov stated the unique policy of Uzbekistan in this regard and stated as follows: "The sacred duty of the Uzbek nation, which is the majority among the population of the republic, is to restore the mother tongue, its national culture and history. not to be responsible for the fate of the few peoples living together, to preserve their unique cultural and spiritual characteristics, to create equal conditions and opportunities for them to develop and express their identity also consists of Such an environment does not allow the emergence of various problems in inter-ethnic relations, it creates an opportunity for the development of society.

            Article 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan clearly states that "the people of Uzbekistan are made up of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, regardless of their nationality." Article 4 of the Constitution states that "the Republic of Uzbekistan ensures respect for the languages, customs and traditions of all nations and peoples living in its territory, and creates conditions for their development."

Interreligious harmony serves as a guarantee of peace and stability in society. The idea of ​​religious tolerance means that people with different religious beliefs live together in one land, one country, in the way of ideas and intentions.

            All religions in the world are based on the ideals of goodness and rely on qualities such as goodness, peace, friendship. Encourages people to honesty and purity, kindness, brotherhood and tolerance. From time immemorial, representatives of religions such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism have lived side by side in our motherland. The presence of mosques, churches and synagogues in large cities over the centuries, and the fact that people of different nationalities and religions continue to practice their religious practices freely, is a confirmation of this. The fact that there were no conflicts between them on a religious basis even in the most complicated and difficult periods of our history indicates that our people have accumulated great experience in the matter of inter-religious tolerance.

             Since the first days of independence, a wide path has been opened for the spiritual world and freedom of belief of representatives of different religions living and working in Uzbekistan. Based on the fact that religion is an integral part of spiritual and cultural life, our young country has radically changed its attitude towards it. The leader of our country clearly and clearly defined the new attitude towards religion based on the principle that "secularism is not secularism". In 1998, the Law on "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" was adopted in a new version, and relations between the state and religion were legally regulated. The purpose of this law is to ensure the freedom and right of religious belief of every person, to ensure the equality of citizens, regardless of their attitude to religion, as well as to regulate relations related to the activities of religious organizations.[5].

            Today, in our country, all conditions have been created for the establishment of an environment of mutual respect and tolerance between organizations of different faiths. During the past 20 years, certain results have been achieved in this direction. Most importantly, inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony, which is one of the important factors of tolerance, was fully ensured. Today, more than 16 religious organizations belonging to 2000 religious confessions are operating in our country, Tashkent Islamic University, 9 secondary special Islamic educational institutions are operating.

            One of the most important tasks of today is to prevent harmful currents that are contrary to the religious beliefs of our people from entering our country, to protect traditional, enlightened, moderate Islam from the influence of foreign ideas.

            There are many areas that determine the promotion of interfaith harmony and religious tolerance. The field of education is undoubtedly of special importance among them. Because the future of our nation and people is inextricably linked with the fate of the generation coming of age today.

            Interreligious harmony and religious tolerance, first of all, a rich historical-spiritual heritage, national values, customs and traditions, national identity, high national pride, universal human values, modern technologies, It envisages raising a mature generation whose worldview is formed on the basis of scientific achievements.

            On October 2007, 11, at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, within the framework of the high-level dialogue of the UN General Assembly on the support of interreligious and intercultural understanding and cooperation in the path of peace, on the topic "Interreligious harmony and intercultural dialogue: the experience of Uzbekistan" a dedicated conference was held.

At the opening of the conference, acting chairman of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly Hamid al-Bayoti, Deputy Secretary General - head of the office of the UN leader V. Nambiar and other high-ranking officials of the UN, heads of diplomatic missions of member states to the UN, as well as Representatives of academic, analytical and socio-cultural circles of the USA and journalists took part.

            The attention of the participants of the conference was drawn to the information about the main priorities and principles of the state policy of Uzbekistan on the strengthening of qualities such as interreligious and intercultural harmony, tolerance and patience, goodness and kindness in the society. It was noted that the leadership of the republic has defined the issue of inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony as a priority task of the state policy since the first days of the country's independence. Thanks to such an approach, the society of Uzbekistan today is a unique example of cultural diversity and tolerance. Peace and harmony, civil solidarity, religious tolerance, equal participation of representatives of different cultures in the life of the society are distinctive features of modern Uzbekistan. Such principles are based on the national policy formed during the years of independence.

            The attention of the participants of the event was awarded to Tashkent by the International Islamic Organization for Science, Education and Culture (ISESCO) in 2007 for its great services to Islamic culture and science, preservation of monuments and enrichment of Islamic heritage. focused on the fact that it is recognized as the capital of culture. The representatives of academic and socio-political circles of the USA in their lectures gave a detailed opinion about the fact that Uzbekistan, located on the Great Silk Road, served as a bridge connecting the East and the West for many centuries. they said. World-famous representatives of the Uzbek people, such as Ibn Sina, Imam Bukhari, Al-Khorazmi, Al-Beruni, Al-Farghani, Bahauddin Naqshbandi, Alisher Navoi, Mirzo Ulugbek, Abduhaliq Gijduvani, are not only world scientists and who made an important contribution to the development of culture, but also to the strengthening of inter-civilizational communication and mutual understanding between the peoples of the world.

The professor of Rutgers and Fordham universities in America, the director of the international organization "Global Scholarly Publications", religious scientist and orientalist P. Morvidj in his lecture talked about the peaceful harmony of different religious and cultural traditions in the territory of Uzbekistan. revealed the centuries-old history of his life based on concrete examples. He noted that "the land of ancient Uzbekistan is one of the cradles of world civilization." Also, "a unique cultural and religious harmony took place in this region, located at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road. "This tradition continues to develop in the territory of modern Uzbekistan," he noted. The American scientist highly appreciated the policy of the republic's leadership to strengthen inter-religious and inter-ethnic harmony in the country.

          The conclusion is that "Uzbekistan is our common home", "The motherland is one", "Tolerance is the great virtue of the Uzbek people", "Uzbekistan is a tolerant country", "Religious beliefs are in the service of peace" Such expressions are not said for nothing. This idea occupies a strong place in the life of every person living in this country, regardless of nationality, religion.

 In today's increasingly globalized and complicated era, life itself shows us that it is possible to secure the future of our nation, Uzbekistan, which is common only in the conditions where there is mutual respect and solidarity among representatives of different nationalities, faiths and religions. shows.

The rational policy of Uzbekistan in this regard is of great importance in the implementation of national ideas such as the development of our country, peace of the country, and the well-being of the people as a partner and in harmony with all our compatriots. After all, our history of thousands of years testifies that interreligious harmony, humanitarianism, striving for interethnic harmony are among the highest qualities of our people. Independence allows us to continue these noble traditions consistently and to ensure that they are passed down from generation to generation.

List of used literature:

1. Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent-2012;

2. Declaration of Principles of Tolerance, 1995;

3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948;

4. Law on "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations", 1998;

5. Yovkochev Sh.A "Politics and religion" study guide;

6. Narbekov AV "Fundamentals of Religious Studies", Tashkent-2007

7. Mominov A, Yoldoshkhojayev H "Theology", Tashkent-2003

[1] Yovkochev Sh.A. Politics and religion. study guide.

[2] AV Narbekov "Basics of Religious Studies", Tashkent-2007.

[3] Clause 3 of Article 1 of the "Declaration of Principles of Tolerance".

[4] Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

[5]Article 1 of the Law on "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations".