Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku International Multiculturalism Centre Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Textbook for Higher Education
Chapter 4 THE SOURCES OF AZERBAIJANI MULTICULTURALISM
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Chapter 4
THE SOURCES OF AZERBAIJANI MULTICULTURALISM 4.1. Four Sources of Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Down the centuries classical Azerbaijani literature has fully reflected the atmosphere of multiculturalism and tolerance and this can be seen in specific works. A desire to embrace humanity as something whole, a need to find mental parallels uniting different peoples, attempts to bring different religions closer together by finding common features, an equally respectful attitude towards the holy places of all religions, morals that judge people not on their religious beliefs but on their personal qualities, a call to compassion, mercy and empathy, and love as the highest and most important feeling, as a common principle of life uniting all peoples regardless of language and religion – all these and other values reflected in Azerbaijan’s literature describe better than anything its inner spirit. Every exponent of our classical literature, with its centuries of history, not only held these values but also transmitted them through the prism of their worldview. Not every work of literature is able to capture the spirit, rhythm and pulse of the society of its era. These literary examples give a fine illustration of the atmosphere of multiculturalism and tolerance that reigned in Azerbaijani society in different eras. They are an artistic cardiogram of pictures of the real life of our historic past, which we can no longer observe for ourselves. These examples show that our people, including progressive, creative individuals, retained other common human values alongside tolerance and open-mindedness towards religion, and often made no division between what they considered ‘ours’ and what they considered ‘other’. The opposition ‘us and them’ appeared in its mildest form throughout the history of the emergence of our people. Azerbaijani literature is saturated with love from the work of Nizami, who declared the idea ‘Love is a heavenly altar’ to be the quintessence of his work, to Javid, author of the lines ‘My lord is beauty and love’. At all times this literature has sung the praises of love for all humanity, without dividing it along racial, ethnic, linguistic or religious lines. Through their literature, imbued with these moral and artistic values, the Azerbaijani people have made a lavish contribution to the treasure trove of common human values. Abdulla Shaiq said: ‘We are all atoms of a single sun!’ Muhammad Hadi laid down the challenge to mankind: ‘Oh, people, we are all brothers!’ In a work by Huseyn Javid the little girl Gulbahar is taught to love the whole of humanity. Through the language of the kamancha Mirza Jalil touched the soul of a centurion, thirsty for revenge. He urged him to be merciful towards the helpless, but bitter enemy; that is, he challenged him to win a victory over himself. Seyid Azim Shirvani believed, ‘To be a man does not depend on being a Muslim.’ As he put all the misfortunes and sorrows of humanity in the mouth of Majnun, Fuzuli was concentrating them in his own breast as well and dreaming of saving the world from grief. And finally, Nizami, creator of the literary masterpiece Seven Beauties, which celebrates the friendship of peoples, so loved the slave he had been given that he married her, though she spoke a foreign language and followed a different religion. Thereby he became an example to future generations. Besides the literary, scientific, philosophical, journalistic, political and legal sources of Azerbaijani multiculturalism, this
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chapter presents sources in art and culture, including music, architecture, theatre, cinema and even cuisine. The diversity and abundance of the sources of Azerbaijani multiculturalism show it has been typical of our people down the centuries. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev noted that ‘the traditions of multiculturalism, which is a relatively new term in our language, have always existed in Azerbaijan. Simply, it had a different name, but its essence has not changed.’ The presentation in this chapter of the old, abundant sources of Azerbaijani multiculturalism allows readers to see Azerbaijani literature, philosophy, journalism, art and culture in a new light. Looking at Azerbaijan’s literature, philosophy, journalism, essay writing, art and culture from the position of multiculturalism is one of the fundamental criteria of its greatness. It allows us to see the social and philosophical history of Azerbaijan in a more colourful, multifaceted paradigm and to hear the dialogue of its eras. Through his Sheikh Sanan, Huseyn Javid answers the questions raised by Khaqani in his Habsiyya (Prison Poem). By dedicating his poems to an Armenian called Susen, Vazeh responds to Nasimi, who wrote a ghazal (a poem consisting of rhyming couplets) in which the second line of each couplet ended with the words ‘Armenian girl’. It is clear from this that had the values we are talking about not been scattered like stars across the firmament of our literature and culture, the path to the common treasury of humanity’s spiritual values would have been thorny and impassable for us. In fact Azerbaijanis overcome it with ease, because: to respect peoples who have different languages and religions, to talk reverently about every people, to treat them with genuine friendship and love, are embedded in the early classics of Azerbaijan, in the poetry of the Middle Ages and Renaissance and the work of writers of the democratic enlightenment too; 134
Azerbaijan’s poetry refers respectfully to those held sacred by different faiths – to Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Jacob, Jesus, Mary; the finest comparisons and similes, restrained in the spirit of the captivating paths of eastern poetry, are created in works dedicated to their lives and deeds; artistic figures are created with comparisons and without, and they all attract attention as striking examples of a multicultural and tolerant spirit; this can also be seen in the great respect shown in our classical literature for the scholars and writers of other peoples – Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Hippocrates, Goethe, Schiller, Shakespeare, Hugo, Voltaire, Rousseau… praise for beauties from different lands and different faiths, the expression of pure, ardent love for them, and the deprivations and sufferings born in the name of that love actually enriched the lives of Qan Turali, Karam, Sheikh Sanan, Bahadur, Ali and other heroes. Even despite the sometimes tragic outcome, these magnificent symphonies of love are unquestionably great works; the genuine, benevolent attitude towards all languages and countries (regions and cities) in classical Azerbaijani literature is not only a reflection of the artistic interpretation of public opinion in that period, but an attempt to direct and shape public opinion too. All these initial generalizations are evidence that national and common human values have historically been intertwined in the psychology and worldview of our people. This immense spiritual treasure trove has been preserved unchanged to this day. Even today the sensitivity and subtleness of the hearts of the Azerbaijanis surprise very many people in the world. We can
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confirm that the tolerance and inclination towards multiculturalism typical of our people ruled for centuries in the minds of our ancestors.
In this chapter we cite incontrovertible evidence and convincing answers to the question ‘who created these values and how?’ Throughout history the examples created by Azerbaijani literary, artistic, scientific, philosophical and journalistic thought have made an inestimable contribution to the world treasury of multiculturalism and tolerance. This knowledge benefits everyone. At the same time, since political dynasties and states have replaced one another throughout history, the multicultural reflexes under way on Azerbaijan’s political plane create favourable conditions for the comprehensive study of these values. The presence of multicultural political values that have come down to us today in a mainly fragmented form make it inevitable that the idea should arise that they were once whole and systematic. This is why historical need led to an outstanding individual taking up the majestic, political baton, like a light shining from the depths of the centuries, from the time of Caucasian Albania, the ancient Azerbaijani dynasties – the Atabays, Safavids, Afshars, Qajars and also the first Democratic Republic. After Azerbaijan acquired its current state independence at the end of the 20th century, National Leader of the Azerbaijani People Heydar Aliyev became the irreplaceable historical figure that fulfilled his historic mission to preserve the country and lead it on the irreversible path of development. He knew very well that multicultural values and tolerance are extremely important, crucial conditions for a relatively small country with an ancient history and national and spiritual traditions like Azerbaijan. In order to preserve these values he tenaciously and systematically created the political foundations of Azerbaijani multiculturalism, giving them legislative force in his political statements and documents, decrees and orders and in articles of the Constitution. In this way, a systematic political foundation with bright prospects was created steadily, step by step for this rich, spiritual treasure trove. In declaring 2016 the Year of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev relied on the spiritual, scholarly and political sources that took shape in the distant historical past of the Azerbaijani people and are preserved to this day. These sources are the richest wellspring and give a fine reflection of the inner world, mentality and spiritual wealth of the nation. Today, President Ilham Aliyev, worthily continuing the political course of his great predecessor, tells the world: ‘Multiculturalism is state policy in Azerbaijan and has no alternative!’ And this is really how it is: there is no alternative to the political will, to the world of words and ideas, to the feelings of the Azerbaijani people that produced Nizami, Mayaneji, Urmavi, Fuzuli, Nasimi, Akhundzada, Seyid Azim, Mirza Jalil, Zardabi, Javid, Abdulla Shaiq and hundreds and thousands of other giants of literary, artistic, scholarly, philosophical and journalistic thought and the historic politician who played an irreplaceable role in the fate of his state. Yüklə 2,25 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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