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.........The two-day Congress of World and Traditional Religions will open Wednesday in the Kazakh capital. It is the third such congress hosted by Nazarbayev in Astana - previous ones were in 2003 and 2006 - and is part of a broader effort to position Kazakhstan as a meeting ground for discussing religious differences.
Both of Israel's chief rabbis will be in attendance, alongside a cardinal who leads interfaith issues in the Vatican, an Anglican bishop and representatives of other Protestant denominations worldwide. Also scheduled to attend are some of the top leaders of the Muslim world, including Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the venerable grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque.
Expectations are high ahead of the meeting because among the confirmed guests are representatives of the ayatollahs' regime in Teheran.
The impressive spectrum expected at the gathering is precisely what Nazarbayev has sought to create. It is an effort to make Kazakhstan's unique religious openness - "a land without a drop of anti-Semitism," Peres called the country during the visit - a lever for influencing the region.
This intermediary role is highlighted by the international roles the country will undertake over the next two years.
In 2010, Kazakhstan will chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the first Central Asian country to lead the 56-member organization whose center of gravity is the West and whose purpose is the advancement of human rights.
Kazakhstan "intends to use its chairmanship to promote interreligious dialogue," according to a government statement.
Then, in 2011, Kazakhstan will chair the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a group composed of 57 nations that works on issues related to "Muslim solidarity."
The Kazakh Embassy in Washington looks forward to "the opportunity for three consecutive years of interfaith dialogue on a prominent global stage."
Dozens more religious groups, including Buddhists from Thailand and China, Zoroastrians, Shintoists from Japan and a large array of political figures will also be at the conference.
"Religions have a deep effect on politics," Peres said in a joint press conference with Nazarbayev in Astana on Tuesday. "If they could be mobilized to the cause of peace, that would have a very large impact on the political situation."
.........The two-day Congress of World and Traditional Religions will open Wednesday in the Kazakh capital. It is the third such congress hosted by Nazarbayev in Astana - previous ones were in 2003 and 2006 - and is part of a broader effort to position Kazakhstan as a meeting ground for discussing religious differences.
Both of Israel's chief rabbis will be in attendance, alongside a cardinal who leads interfaith issues in the Vatican, an Anglican bishop and representatives of other Protestant denominations worldwide. Also scheduled to attend are some of the top leaders of the Muslim world, including Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the venerable grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque.
Expectations are high ahead of the meeting because among the confirmed guests are representatives of the ayatollahs' regime in Teheran.
The impressive spectrum expected at the gathering is precisely what Nazarbayev has sought to create. It is an effort to make Kazakhstan's unique religious openness - "a land without a drop of anti-Semitism," Peres called the country during the visit - a lever for influencing the region.
This intermediary role is highlighted by the international roles the country will undertake over the next two years.
In 2010, Kazakhstan will chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the first Central Asian country to lead the 56-member organization whose center of gravity is the West and whose purpose is the advancement of human rights.
Kazakhstan "intends to use its chairmanship to promote interreligious dialogue," according to a government statement.
Then, in 2011, Kazakhstan will chair the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a group composed of 57 nations that works on issues related to "Muslim solidarity."
The Kazakh Embassy in Washington looks forward to "the opportunity for three consecutive years of interfaith dialogue on a prominent global stage."
Dozens more religious groups, including Buddhists from Thailand and China, Zoroastrians, Shintoists from Japan and a large array of political figures will also be at the conference.
"Religions have a deep effect on politics," Peres said in a joint press conference with Nazarbayev in Astana on Tuesday. "If they could be mobilized to the cause of peace, that would have a very large impact on the political situation."
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