By Eric Gozlan and  Murad Salmanov

One of the most serious challenges facing humanity in today’s world is not only weapons of mass destruction or global climate change. Alongside these threats, one of the greatest dangers to the future of humanity is intolerance, racism, religious discrimination, and antisemitism.

Today, the growing wave of hatred directed against the State of Israel and the Jewish people in various countries around the world is a matter of serious concern. At such a time, Azerbaijan sends an important message to the international community through its historical experience, multicultural traditions, and the peaceful coexistence of different religious communities.

Throughout its history, Azerbaijan has been a meeting point of different religions, peoples, and cultures. The Jewish people are an important part of this rich historical heritage. Jews have lived in Azerbaijan peacefully for centuries, contributing to the country’s social, economic, scientific, and cultural development.

How is it possible for a country with a Muslim identity to serve as an example of peaceful coexistence among different religions and peoples? The answer lies primarily in Azerbaijani society’s historical experience, moral values, and approach to others.

Coexistence does not simply mean the presence of different faiths alongside one another in the same territory. It is built through relationships between people, mutual encounters, trust, and the willingness to understand one another. The Azerbaijani experience demonstrates that people can remain connected to their national and religious identities while showing respect for the culture and beliefs of their neighbours.

Values such as compassion, justice, and respect for others bring people closer together, regardless of their religious beliefs. The goal is not to eliminate the distinctive characteristics of different religions, but to enable everyone to preserve their own identity while developing a better understanding of one another.

In everyday life, this happens more naturally than one might imagine. Christians, Jews, and Muslims celebrate their religious holidays and observe their traditions, passing them on to their children. At the same time, they share common values: building a peaceful future for their children, helping those close to them, and living in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Trust is created through such actions, conversations, and relationships that develop over time. This trust is more effective and lasting than empty rhetoric. Azerbaijan demonstrates that a strong state can turn diversity into an integral part of its national wealth rather than opposing it.

Azerbaijan’s ties with the Jewish people are not limited to the modern era. Their historical roots go back centuries. Over a long period, various Jewish communities settled in different regions of Azerbaijan, preserving their religious, national, and cultural identities while establishing close ties with local society.

When discussing Azerbaijan’s Jewish heritage, Mountain Jews deserve particular attention. They are among the country’s oldest and most distinctive Jewish communities. Their language, religious traditions, culture, and way of life constitute an important chapter in Azerbaijan’s history.

One of the most remarkable examples of this historical heritage is Red Village, located in the Guba district. Established in the eighteenth century during the period of the Guba Khanate, this settlement became a special place where Mountain Jews preserved their religious and cultural identities over the centuries. Today, Red Village remains one of the most important centres of Caucasian Jewish history and cultural heritage.

The significance of Red Village is not limited to its history. Its synagogues, religious traditions, Juhuri language, and cultural heritage are living examples of how Jewish identity has been passed down from generation to generation. This settlement demonstrates Azerbaijan’s historical experience of allowing different religious communities to preserve their identities while living in the country.

Azerbaijan’s Jewish heritage is not limited to Mountain Jews. Ashkenazi and Georgian Jews are also part of Azerbaijani society, each with their own distinctive historical, religious, and cultural traditions. This diversity further enriches the country’s Jewish community.

Jews have played an important role not only in Azerbaijan’s religious and cultural life but also in its economy, science, education, arts, and public life. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Baku was rapidly developing as a result of its oil industry, members of the Jewish communities participated in the city’s economic and intellectual life. Among Baku’s Jewish population were entrepreneurs, engineers, doctors, teachers, scientists, and artists.

Jews were also represented in the parliament during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. This is an important indication of the participation of different ethnic and religious communities in Azerbaijan’s history of statehood.

This history once again demonstrates that Azerbaijani Jews have been citizens who participated in the country’s development, helped shape its public life, and contributed to its common future. Today, Jewish communities in Azerbaijan continue their religious, cultural, and social activities. Synagogues, religious and cultural centres, educational initiatives, and community organisations help sustain this life.

Azerbaijan’s historical ties with the Jewish people have also created an important moral and humanitarian foundation for the development of Azerbaijan–Israel relations in the modern era. Israel recognised Azerbaijan’s independence on 25 December 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 7 April 1992. The opening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Israel in 2023 marked an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations.

Today, Azerbaijan and Israel maintain cooperation in political dialogue, the economy, energy, agriculture, advanced technologies, cybersecurity, and other fields. Relations between the two countries are based not only on intergovernmental interests but also on historical and cultural ties that have developed between their peoples.

The fact that a significant part of Azerbaijan’s Jewish population lives in Israel also gives these relations a special human dimension. Through their family histories, cultures, and memories, they maintain a living connection between Azerbaijan and Israel.

One of the distinctive features of Azerbaijan–Israel relations is that a country with a Muslim-majority population and a Jewish state can establish a partnership based on mutual respect and cooperation. These relations provide an important example demonstrating that religions and civilisations are not necessarily destined to be in conflict with one another.

Azerbaijan’s experience of coexistence extends beyond its borders. Baku has become one of the important international platforms for intercultural and interreligious dialogue. Established in 2008, the Baku Process aims to promote mutual understanding, cooperation, and dialogue among different cultures and civilisations. Since 2011, the World Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, held in Baku, has brought together politicians, academics, religious leaders, representatives of international organisations, and civil society from various countries around the world.

The significance of these forums goes beyond hosting international meetings. They provide an opportunity for people with different religious and cultural identities to get to know one another better, discuss common challenges, and explore opportunities for cooperation in the pursuit of peace.

The 7th World Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, held in Baku on 27–29 October 2026, continued this tradition. Its central theme was building bridges towards a shared future in a fragmented world. In this sense, Baku is not merely the capital of Azerbaijan; it is also an international platform where representatives of different peoples, religions, and cultures can come together.

The true strength of interreligious dialogue is demonstrated not only at major international events and in official statements but also in people’s everyday lives. A Muslim family congratulating its Jewish neighbour on a religious holiday, Christian and Muslim families sharing one another’s joys, and members of different religious communities participating together in charitable activities all demonstrate the moral richness of society.

Azerbaijan has its own distinctive historical tradition of such relationships. Representatives of different religions have lived in the same cities, villages, and neighbourhoods for many years, establishing friendships and good neighbourly relations with one another.

Preserving these relationships and passing them on to future generations is particularly important. Tolerance must not be limited to laws and official documents. It must also be reflected in people’s thoughts, behaviour, and everyday relationships. True coexistence does not mean eliminating differences; it means accepting those differences and building a shared future.

Today, wars, religious conflicts, racism, and antisemitism in various parts of the world pose serious threats to the stability of societies. In particular, hostility towards Israel and the Jewish people, discrimination based on religious identity, and the distortion of historical facts are issues that require the attention of the international community.

Combating antisemitism is not merely a matter of defending the Jewish people. It is also a matter of defending human dignity, religious freedom, equality, and universal values. Indifference towards hatred against Jews can create dangerous conditions for hatred directed against other peoples and religious communities as well.

In this regard, Azerbaijan’s historical experience conveys an important message: people with different religious and national identities can participate equally in building the common future of a state and society. Azerbaijan’s example demonstrates that Muslim identity and respect for Jewish heritage, commitment to national traditions and multicultural values, as well as religious affiliation and secular statehood, are not contradictory concepts.

Peace is not built solely through meetings between heads of state and international agreements. Its foundations lie in the trust established between people, families, neighbours, and different communities. When a person makes an effort to understand a neighbour of a different faith, respects their holidays, and shares in their joys and sorrows, they contribute to building peace.

Azerbaijan’s historical experience demonstrates that diversity is not a threat to society; when properly protected and accompanied by mutual respect, it is a great asset. The fact that Jews, Muslims, and Christians have lived on this land for centuries while preserving their religious and cultural identities is an important feature of Azerbaijan’s history. This heritage is not merely a memory of the past; it is also a responsibility towards future generations.

One of the most important messages Azerbaijan can offer the world is that, instead of dividing people according to their religion, ethnic background, or national identity, we should emphasise the values that unite them.

At a time when antisemitism directed against Israel and the Jewish people, racism against other peoples, and religious intolerance are increasing, Azerbaijan offers a different message through its historical and social experience. The essence of this message is simple: people can preserve their own identities while respecting the identities of others. Being Muslim, Jewish, or Christian should not drive people apart. On the contrary, shared human values can bring them together.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson Azerbaijan can offer the world is precisely this: peace is built not by erasing differences, but by respecting them. Respect must stand against hatred, equality against discrimination, and friendship against hostility. Diversity exists not to divide humanity, but to enrich it.

Eric Gozlan is the founder of Géopolitique et action, President of Ukraine International Coordination Alliance, and Co-Director of I-Transform.

Murad Salmanov is the Director of Azerbaijan–Israel Youth Friendship Society.