Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku International Multiculturalism Centre Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Textbook for Higher Education
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- 4.3. Scholarly and Philosophical Sources of Azerbaijani Multiculturalism
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The Bible and Koran cannot divide us.
The borders of shahs cannot divide us. The oceans and the sea cannot divide us. Miles of desert cannot divide us. The magnificent mountains cannot divide us. North, South, East, West cannot divide. That’s enough hatred and hostility! The representative of the UN Development Program in Azerbaijan, Paolo Lembo, used the line from Abdulla Shaiq’s poem ‘We are all atoms of a single sun’ as an epigraph to his ‘Report on Human Development in Azerbaijan – 1995’. Presenting this book as a gift to the Abdulla Shaiq House Museum, he said, ‘In these lines the outstanding Azerbaijani poet, Abdulla Shaiq, expressed the hopes and aspirations for brotherhood and accord of all the Azerbaijani people. This line of poetry could be said to encompass the entire programme of the United Nations.’ As the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said, multiculturalism is a way of life inherent to the Azerbaijani people. Multicultural values are, therefore, highly appreciated in the classical literature of Azerbaijan and have been promoted widely. 150
4.3. Scholarly and Philosophical Sources of Azerbaijani Multiculturalism From ancient times to the present day the land of Azerbaijan has been a place where civilizations intersect. It has been home to the birth of many civilizations since the beginning of human history. When we look back at history, we can see traces of many cultures in the territory of Azerbaijan, beginning with examples of material and spiritual Sumerian culture. Alongside the influence of ancient civilizations, religions have also played an important role in the formation of Azerbaijani culture. The mythical thinking of the ancient Oghuz Turks, the religious outlook of Zoroastrianism, and later the people’s acquaintance with Christianity all enriched the spiritual treasury of values of the Azerbaijani people. After Azerbaijan’s conversion to Islam, the values of Islam were synthesized with the national spiritual values accumulated by the people. Azerbaijani culture went on to develop and make its contribution to the Islamic world. Zoroastrianisn and its holy book the Avesta taught universal values. It called on people to live in peace, unity, and harmony, brotherhood and friendship. This tendency is observed in Islam and Christianity, too. Christianity, unlike Judaism, is a religion open to all people. This integrational aspect of Christianity enabled it to spread over a vast area. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to be acquainted with Christianity and the religion played a major role in shaping Azerbaijani culture. The richness and diversity of Azerbaijani culture can be explained by its foundation on elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. The value system of multiculturalism and tolerance has travelled a long road of development, showing its peaceful nature and openness to dialogue with other cultures and religions. The
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demonstration of tolerance and a multicultural mentality could be seen in medieval Azerbaijan too. The Azerbaijani people’s commitment to multicultural values, the spiritual values of the people and society as a whole, can be seen in their world outlook and manner of thinking, in the life style and work of the famous Azerbaijani poets and thinkers, including the authors of the Middle Ages. One such was the great Azerbaijani poet and philosopher Khaqani Shirvani. His father was a Muslim and his mother a Christian, who later adopted Islam. This was reflected in his life and work. The ideas of multiculturalism and tolerance were at the centre of the life and heritage of the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi. His marriage to a Christian Kipchak girl Afaq and his cherished children from this marriage are conspicuous examples of it. Commitment to the values of multiculturalism can be seen in the legacy of Khaqani and Nizami. In their work, these poets gave equal treatment and showed love for all without discrimination among cultures or religions. Both poets frequently mentioned Biblical topics in their poems, recalling the characters of Biblical stories in their own way and adding new meanings and colour to them. Khaqani’s qasidas (odes) To the Byzantine Emperors confirm once more that the poet knew Christianity and its various trends much better than many a Christian. This was a natural result of his multicultural identity. Khaqani and Nizami praised pre-Islamic oriental culture with equal enthusiasm. When Khaqani was in Baghdad, the centre of the Islamic world and the catipal of one of the most powerful empires – the Arab Caliphate, he praised in his poem the city of Ctesiphon (al-Madain), which once existed near present-day Baghdad. Ctesiphon was the capital of the Sassanid Empire, its religion was Zoroastrianism and its ideology differed from that of Islam. 152 Khaqani’s thinking was attuned to multicultural values; he appreciated the magnificence of al-Madain which he described as equal to that of Mecca. He displayed interest in Zoroastrianism, studying research into the religion and surviving excerpts from the Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrianism. As a Muslim, Nizami Ganjavi highly appreciated Islam and its Holy Koran, showing great interest in them. He also paid great attention to the ancient religions, particularly Zoroastrianism and the Avesta, as well as to the Bible and the cultures of different nations, including the Greeks, Arabs, Persians, Turks, Georgians, Jews and Russians. This shows the poet’s tolerance of other cultures and his close relationship to multicultural values. An example of this is that he could read all decrees in the ancient Pahlavi language and wrote about the Christian stories. Nizami depicted an ancient Persian emperor Khosrow in his poem Khosrow and Shirin, and another Persian ruler, Bahram Gur, in his poem The Seven Beauties. Nizami wrote about Alexander the Great and Queen Nushaba, ruler of Azerbaijan, in his poem The Book of Alexander (Iskandarnama). Nizami praised the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, and the ideas of the great Azerbaijani thinker Zoroaster. In his poem The Book of Alexander, he wrote appreciatively in his own style of the teachings of the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, which tells of the poet’s tolerance of other ideas. Azerbaijani scientists and poets typically knew Arabic and Persian and the philosophical and scientific works written in these languages. The world-renowned Azerbaijani scientist Nasraddin Tusi (Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, 1201-74) knew Arabic, Persian and Greek perfectly and wrote remarkable work in Arabic and Persian. A strong multicultural attitude underpinned Nasraddin Tusi’s ideas and actions. He was one of the colossal figures who could find common ground in the values of Islamic culture and nomadic Mongolian culture, which was alien to him.
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The Azerbaijani poet and philosopher of genius, Imaddadin Nasimi (1369-1417), who commanded the hearts and minds of the Muslim world for decades, may have lagged behind Tusi in terms of political activity, but surpassed him in his philosophical work. Nasimi knew Arabic and Persian as well as his mother tongue. He created his divans (collections of poems) in three languages, demonstrating not only his talent and intellectual power, but also his commitment to multicultural values. Nasimi also showed his multicultural values in his attitude towards mysticism, which he saw as above Islam. To Nasimi mysticism was neither a part of Islam nor outside it, but above it. Further evidence of Nasimi’s multicultural values can be seen in his profound study of religious and philosophical teachings from different parts of the world and his creation with his teacher Naimi of a new religious and philosophical doctrine, Hurufism.
Nasimi managed to spread this teaching to many countries. This shows that Azerbaijani culture profited from world culture and contributed to it too. Nasimi, his supporters and followers in Azerbaijan and the region spread the Sufi-Hurufi doctrine far and wide. Western scholars consider the Sufis to be Islamic missionaries. But in fact the Sufis were not Islamic fanatics; they shared values linked to the non-traditional explanation of the transcendental idea and a very different explanation of orthodox Islam. The Sufi interpretation can bring all religions together around a common meaning, or to put it in a modern way, it is multicultural. They propagated their faith in Azerbaijan and around the world among nations with different cultures, languages and religions. They saw all cultures and religions as having the same root, because God is the creator of mankind and God is the same and unique for all mankind. There is religious diversity among nations because they comprehend, imagine and express God differently and pray to God in different ways. The tendency towards tolerance typical of the Azerbaijani mentality and culture since ancient times can be clearly seen in the late Middle Ages too. The Azerbaijani poet Muhammad Fuzuli followed the examples of Khaqani Shirvani, Nizami Ganjavi, and Nasraddin Tusi and wrote his poetry and philosophical works in Azerbaijani, Arabic and Persian. He was the first Azerbaijani philosopher to write a treatise on the history of philosophy. His The Origin of Faith (Matla ul-Itiqadi) demonstrates his philosophical erudition and deep knowledge of the philosophers of the Islamic world and beyond – Thales of Miletus, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and others. This showed his commitment to a multicultural outlook. Medieval Azerbaijani thinker Ayn al-Quzat Mayaneji wrote that if a contradiction emerges between the ideas of different religious scriptures, the accuracy and conformity of those ideas should be examined before a decision is taken on the truthfulness of the creeds based on those scriptures. This could be important in creating a multicultural environment. In a letter to his friend Ghazi Kamaudovla he protested against prejudice. He said how tired he was of the poor state of religious teaching and his inability to tackle it fully. He thought it would be better to die than to live in such conditions. His letter shows that the growth of ignorance and prejudice in religion creates tensions in society in all periods of history. Mayaneji believed that society should be designed in conformity with the laws of God. These are the principles on which all disagreements should be resolved. What happens in society is connected with the nature of that society. The solution of the problems within a society requires consideration of the features of that society and the way it works. ‘I studied the holy books as I sought to rise from the foot of imitation to the peak of wisdom. I did not reach my goal. I found fallacy in the creeds.’
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Society never regulates itself, but should be regulated, according to the philosopher, lawyer and statesman Sirajaddin Mahmud ibn Abu Bakr of Urmia (1198-1283). A serious governance mechanism based on serious scientific principles is required in society in order to create a multicultural environment. Quoting from the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, Sirajaddin Mahmud ibn Abu Bakr wrote that the processes under way in society are governable and that it is possible to change the nature of people. If the character of each person changes to a certain degree, the processes in society can also be regulated. This is a response to those who say there is no multiculturalism in society and civilizations and national interests are bound to clash. He said that wisdom and intellect should be shaped on the principles of the universe. If this is done, wisdom will find harmony between the interests of society and its own interests.
Sirajaddin Mahmud ibn Abu Bakr’s ideas on governance are very important. He gave this example: ‘When the brain governs the body in conformity with the law of medicine, the body becomes sounder and stronger. This in turn makes the mind healthy, enabling it to take the right decisions.’ According to this philosophy, society should be ruled by its governor in conformity with that society’s principles. This will lead to the successful administration of the country. For harmonious development and the creation of a multicultural environment in society everybody needs to be provided with an occupation according to their ability and experience. The philosopher stated: ‘There are two things a human being needs to survive: the first belongs to nobody – water, plants, animals, fish and the like, while the second belongs to someone.’ ‘Society needs rules and bans in order to reduce or abolish tyranny and violence, and to maintain order and stability.’ ‘There is a saying: Property is governed by men, men are governed by wealth, and wealth is governed by creativity, but only creativity is governed by justice and politics.’ ‘If it were not possible to change the morals and nature of man and replace them with something better, then it would be impossible to call for an improvement in the morals and nature of man.’ Shahab al-Din Yahya Suhrawardi (1154-1191) thought that the various tension and confrontations between people and social groups in society appeared due to the reasonable desire that arose later. In fact, it contradicts the natural essence of the universe. All religious sources, oriental philosophy, tasavvuf (an eastern religious and philosophical trend) and Islam think that the desire of man must be brought into conformity with the principles of the universe. Therefore, the universe requires the establishment of a cultural environment in conformity with the universe’s principles of existence and action. Proceeding from the philosophy of Suhrawardi, it is possible to analyse the essence of society and the ideas reflected in its different social strata. In each social stratum there are different opinions about the community. When a conflict arises among the social stata, it must be solved by taking into account the essence of society. The harmony existing in the essence of society derives from its multicultural essence. According to Suhrawardi, everybody should regulate themselves internally, rely on the rules of the universe and feed from the universe in order to get energy from it; everybody should be attentive to material values and benefit from them without wastage. His fundamental philosophy is the ultimate purity of individuals; every individual according to the rules of the universe has to take sustenance and enjoy material values. However, a predilection for wealth damages the formation of multicultural values. A moral environment should be developed for the formation of multicultural values in society. For the formation of a multicultural environment the moral and spiritual environment must develop further. Then society will regulate itself with the energy it receives from the universe.
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In his works about society Nasraddin Tusi wrote about the search for the laws of harmonious coexistence. He compared society to a body, in which all the organs coexist in love and unity. They must not wage war with each other, but coexist in mutual harmony in order to make the body healthier. We can see ideas that are now called tolerance in his work. Tolerance is now used in the meaning of ‘to tolerate each other’. In its best meaning it is a sense of justice. A sense of justice is superior to a feeling of tolerance. Nasraddin Tusi considers the sense of love to be natural and far superior to a sense of justice. He said that the more natural sense of society is a sense of love; i.e. people living in society do not tolerate each other, but love each other, which is right and more natural. He thought that justice is the perfect human virtue, as when love among people is absent or weak, justice is needed to maintain law and order. Thus, the meaning of tolerance is to tolerate each other and to live in an ordered society. Nasraddin Tusi shared the views of the philosophers that came before him that to be forced to coexist, to coexist against one’s will, prevents development. The root of the multiculturalism that Azerbaijan wants to spread across the world excludes violence and force and artificial regulations; it includes only love. Different ethnic groups, religious confessions and all people in society should live and communicate in love. ‘The basis of such work changes, depending on changes in circumstances, the victories of rulers, the overthrow of states, the diversity of peoples and states.’ He continued: ‘The aim of the philosopher is to investigate and analyse the general works and commands lest they be destroyed, lest the nations be destroyed, lest states be substituted by others when they grow old, overall that they should have practical wisdom.’ ‘A state can live a long time only on the basis of justice. The main condition of justice is to create harmony among all the strata of people.’ * The views on tolerance of Khagani Shirvani, Nizami Ganjavi, Muhammad Fuzuli, Mahmud Shabustari and other poets and thinkers are covered in Section 4.2 Liter-ary Sources of Azerbaijani Multiculturalism. The development of a multicultural and tolerant environment in the history of the philosophy and culture of Azerbaijan can be seen in the life and work of Azerbaijan’s educators and thinkers. Abbasgulu Agha Bakikhanov (1794-1847) is one of these thinkers, who sought the education of the perfect human being and the establishment of a just and fair society. Bakikhanov’s philosophical and ethical views are set out in his Moral Perfection and The Book of Admonition. In his day Bakikhanov was known for his encyclopaedic knowledge and multicultural values featured widely in his work. He was also one of the first historians in Azerbaijan and his work is, therefore, varied; he wrote on philosophy, ethics and religion. A tendency towards humanistic and universal values and multiculturalism can be clearly seen in his work. It manifests itself in his work on love, friendship, brotherhood, peace, security and moderation. Overall, the main aspects of the concepts of coexistence and unity can be seen in his works of philosophy. He saw ‘goodness’ as man’s main mission in the world. A kind deed reflects the life of peace and the feelings of brotherhood and love. ‘Nothing in the world can contradict nature; things cannot fulfil the expected task in their existence. But man is an exception, because he is free to act or not to act. From this point of view, he can do both good and evil. As goodness and kindness is the real goal in the world, man, who is the most honourable creature in the world, must repay his debts and not fail to perform the duties laid on him. He must always try to do good and should know that doing good is a greater goal than moral cleansing, reform and education, because any action deprived of goodness is like a fruitless tree.’ Mirza Fatali Akhundzada (1812-78) is known in the history of philosophical thought in Azerbaijan for his commitment to
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multiculturalism both in his life and work. As the founder of the philosophy of enlightenment in Azerbaijan, Akhundzada showed pluralism in religious teaching and atheist ideas against religious dogmas in his philosophical work. He expressed the multicultural and tolerant ideas existing in society in his literary and philosophical works. The thinker was an example of tolerance towards religious conflicts and disputes raised at high-level meetings of religious scholars. Akhundzada expressed his respect for the work of famous writers and poets around the world, which was an expression of the multicultural thinking of the Azerbaijani people. In his letters he referred to the prominent poets and writers of different nations and to the universal character of their work. Akhundzada wrote that many creeds and sects had spread in Iran (and Azerbaijan) after the adoption of Islam and expressed his tolerance towards them in Three Letters from Indian Prince Kemal ud-Dovle to Iranian Prince Jemal ud-Dovle, which is written in a question and answer format. Hasan bay Zardabi (1837-1907) is popular for his multicultural work and outlook in the history of the philosophical thought of Azerbaijan. He was a distinguished educator and his work is rich in the ideas of tolerance and multiculturalism. In his article ‘Community Charitable Foundations’ published in the newspaper Hayat (Life) on 25 November 1905, he wrote freely about the creation of Armenian charitable foundations in Azerbaijan. In his article ‘Language and Religion’ he appreciated the important role of language and religion in the life of every nation. These articles reveal his belief in liberal ideas and the rule of law and show his tolerance and multicultural values. |