The two-day seminar on "Religion factor in ideological struggle: expectations from the media" continued with sessions on September 24 in Shusha, jointly organized by the State Committee on Affairs with Religious Associations and the Fund for Propagation of Moral Values operating under it.
In the second session on "Combating religious radicalism and media" moderated by Agil Shirinov, the rector of the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology, Fuad Nurullayev, Deputy Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Administration, said that throughout history, the bearers of various religions have shown behaviors that include radicalism. The concept of religious radicalism is actually completely far from true religious values, because true Islam is a religion of peace, kindness, tolerance. F. Nurullayev, who also emphasized the importance of educating media representatives in the religious field, emphasized that journalists should be careful when writing about sacred events, be sensitive to people's moral feelings, and refer to authentic sources.
Zeyni Huseynov, the deputy head of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, noted that the secular nature of the Azerbaijani people eliminates the danger of conflicts and discrimination on religious grounds, despite external influences. In order to maintain this stability, changes and additions are made to the legislation, conferences are organized in the territory of the republic with the joint organization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Committee on Affairs with Religious Associations and other law enforcement agencies, and preventive measures are taken against negative trends such as radicalism and extremism. Noting that sometimes young people look for addresses to answer questions about religion in the virtual space, Z. Huseynov touched on the importance of healthy education on religious issues through the media in order to prevent the society from becoming a target of harmful propaganda.
Natig Mirzayev, consultant of the Administrative and Military Normative Acts Department of the Legislation Department of the Ministry of Justice, noted that the activities of press representatives are of special importance in preventing the attempts of foreign forces to abuse religion. Members of the media should always keep in mind the abuse of religion and attempts to politicize religion, its consequences and other similar factors, and should approach the issue with extreme sensitivity. At the same time, N. Mirzayev gave extensive information about the legal basis of the fight against the problem of religious radicalism and extremism.
Then the media representatives voiced their opinions and notes on the discussed issues.