​French expert: “Establishment of the Democratic Republic is the great

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) is the first secular state in the region. This is the greatest revolution in the history of Azerbaijan, head of the Center for Strategic Analysis and Geopolitical Studies in Paris, Naim Asas told Report.

Naim Asas said Azerbaijan has a significant strategic geographical position: “ADR established the first secular state in the region. It was significantly affected by its geographical position. Azerbaijan has always surrounded by big countries. At the same time, Western countries, as well as Europeans and Americans, have shown interest in this country. Azerbaijan, in turn, has always tried to have good relations with neighboring countries. All these resulted in the prevention of religious dominance in this country.”

He also touched upon the multiculturalism in Azerbaijan: “Secularism has never been against the religion, on the contrary, it defends beliefs. The existence of cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity had a positive impact on the development of joint Secularism for all people. Azerbaijani intellectual people, who were founders of ADR, studied in the Western and Russian schools. All these factors combined and caused the development of Secularism.”

Naim Asas thinks that Secularism in Azerbaijan is still a model for other countries: “Even though more than 200 years have passed since the establishment of the first Republic, we still see gaps in these values in France. Although Afghanistan and some countries achieved Secularism at one time, these values have disappeared today.”