Religious tolerance is a safeguard of peace and security

 To develop and promote principles of tolerance is important in the globalized world. In order to enhance social relations and prevent conflicts, it is necessary to establish a ground for mutual understanding, negotiation and tolerance on the border of religions, languages and ethnicity. In this regard, it should be underlined that democracy is very important to protect and improve secularism in the plural societies. 

No dialogues can be conducted if there is no respect for human rights, rule of law, democratic principles and spiritual values. Not only secular ideology but also religious ideology is a goal of life in the culturally diversified world. The differences among Abrahamic religions -Christianity, Judaism and Islam laid the ground for dialogue while these brought radicalism, too. In modern-day headlines of radicalism are Islamophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism and hate speech.

There are several views on the issues related to Antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and hate crimes which are threats to the national securities and unity of nations. Thus, the terms such as Islamophobia, xenophobia and hate crimes are often used in the culturally diversified societies.

It should be noted that there are different attitudes toward linguistic, religious, sexual and social diversity in the world. Why are there these types of tendency occurring while everyone is equal before the law? Firstly, we have to look at the factors form differences in the society.  Though religion is a main factor. The ethnic and linguistic difference comes second after religion in this regard.

Today, it is widely observed that religion is actively using as a tool in the political affairs regardless of secular system. There are two reasons for the politicization of religion. Firstly, it is considered as a main demand for political, social and personal deeds. Secondly, there are some ancient religious rituals which are in conflicts with secular ideology. 

To protect fundamental human rights and freedoms as well as core values in democratic societies within minority rich communities is leading to speed up assimilation and/or naturalization policy by the government. Thus, minorities possess only social values granting citizenship in there. As a result, religious pluralism promotes political pluralism having laid ground for social tolerance. From the crusades to the conflicts and wars in the Middle East religion has been a main `tool` to provoke terrorism, a crime against humanity, hate crimes and separatism. All Abrahamic religions though explicitly prohibit and condemn killing or terrorizing human being since then. It is necessary to promote religious tolerance and intercultural dialogues by democratic states as well as regional and global organizations such as United Nations, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the like.

According to the statistics on  terror acts, conflicts and wars prove that the world has to unite to enhance religious tolerance, interfaith dialogues and mutual understandings. The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) (2017) shows that the main factor of today`s conflict is religion and religious difference. GTI (2017) says that terror acts committed in 67 countries out of 167 in the world today, 51% of them is on the religious ground.

At the same time, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria and Pakistan are among the five countries [red. Muslim countries] most impacted by terrorism leave room for the `development` of Islamophobia. This report and campaign conducted by interest groups against Islam conclude that conflicts between West and Muslim world have emerged from the propagation of Islam as a violent and militarist religion in the non-Muslim polar. These propagations trigger hate crimes and develop hate groups. These crimes strengthen separatism and violence in the societies. After all, what measures can be done to prevent these tendencies? The countries governed by democratic principles started to improving legislation in the freedom of belief, expression and thought. In order to support the argument, two multicultural countries have chosen where legal documents ensuring rights of national and ethnic minorities. Azerbaijan and Canada are the countries where freedoms of belief, expression and thought granted for believers, non-believers, atheists, agnostics, skeptics and unaffiliated to integrate into society, to establish a place for intercultural and interfaith dialogues. Thus, article 47 of "Freedom of thought and speech" of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan says that "Propaganda provoking racial, national, religious and social discord and animosity is prohibited", also Article 718.2 of Criminal Code of Canada includes “the evidence that the offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, color, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, or on any other similar factor" a court imposes a sentence. These legislative measures are the one prohibiting hate crimes, xenophobia and racial discrimination.

This article concludes that respect for fundamental freedom and other rights are important to protect cultural pluralism in the society.