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Center for Islamic Civilization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Center for Islamic Civilization
Oʻzbekistondagi islom sivilizatsiyasi markazi
AbbreviationCISC
Formation2017
Established2025
HeadquartersTashkent, Uzbekistan
Location
  • Karasarayskaya street, 89A
Official language
Uzbek
Director
Firdavs Abdukhalikov
Websitehttps://cisc.uz/

The Center for Islamic Civilization (CIC) (Uzbek: Oʻzbekistondagi islom sivilizatsiyasi markazi) is the largest cultural, scientific, and educational complex in Uzbekistan. It houses a museum, a research institute, libraries, international partner organizations, scientific laboratories, centers of traditional crafts, and educational departments. The centerpiece of the museum is the Samarkand Kufic Quran, one of the oldest surviving Quran manuscripts in the world which claims to be the personal copy that the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan was martyred upon.[1]

The goal of the Center is to provide a comprehensive study of the history of Uzbekistan from ancient times to the modern period, with a focus on the region’s contribution to world civilization in the fields of science, culture, and spiritual heritage. Special attention is given to the scientific legacy of Uzbek scholars, the study of their works, as well as contemporary academic research and new discoveries.

History

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The Quran hall in the museum where the Samarkand Kufic Quran is located

The Center was an initiative of the president of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev who envisaged it as a vehicle to scientifically substantiate the greatness of Islamic civilization and portray Islam as a religion of "goodness, peace and tolerance."[2]

Mirziyoyev formally announced the establishment of the Center for Islamic Culture in June 2017.[3] Later, he proposed renaming it the Center for Islamic Civilization.[4]

The major benefactor of the project was Alisher Usmanov, an Uzbek billionaire and philanthropist, who not only financed the construction but also donated a collection of rare and valuable books.[5][6]

In July 2021, President Mirziyoyev hailed the Center as a scientific and educational institution that would highlight Uzbekistan's role in the cultural heritage of the region. Among its missions would be to establish libraries and train guides and translators.[7] The Center for Islamic Civilization will cooperate with UNESCO, ISESCO and other international organizations.[8] The ICESCO Manuscripts Center will be housed there.[9] The center will have four thematic galleries focusing on Pre-Islamic Heritage, the First Renaissance (8th–13th centuries), the Second Renaissance (15th century) and Modern Uzbekistan.[10]

In preparation for the opening, ancient manuscripts and objects directly related to the history and culture of Uzbekistan were purchased from antique dealers, private collectors and international auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's.[11] In May 2025, a collection of Seljuk-era jewellery that was up for auction at Christie's was purchased by the center. The collection includes 35 handcrafted rings, earrings, bracelets, chains and clasps.[12]

At the opening ceremony of the UNESCO General Conference, hosted by Uzbekistan in October 2025, Mirziyoyev invited other nations to collaborate in the work of the center "to advance tolerance, enlightenment and interfaith harmony."[13]

In September 2025, Paolo Zampolli, the United States special envoy for global partnerships visited the Center in Tashkent on his first official visit to Uzbekistan.[14]

In November 2025, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Ilham Aliyev, Sadyr Zhaparov, and Emomali Rahmon (leaders of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) joined Mirziyoyev in a visit to the Center.[15]

The Center was officially opened in March 2026 in the presence of the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.[5]

Design and architecture

[edit]
Hall of Honor

On September 1, 2017, Mirziyoyev visited the Khazrati Imam complex to view the site chosen for the project. A plot of land of about 10 hectares was allocated next to the complex. Mirziyoyev personally laid the cornerstone on June 15, 2018.[16] The length of the three-story building of the Islamic Civilization Center is 145 meters, the width is 115 meters. The height of the central dome is 65 meters.[17] At least $161.8 million was allocated for the construction of the building.[18] The construction was supposed to be completed by the beginning of 2024, but work on the project remains ongoing.[19]

The first floor will house a research center, a data digitization and restoration laboratory, a storage fund for museum exhibits and rare manuscripts. A museum with an exhibition hall of about 15,000 square meters is planned for the second floor. Various exhibits of the cultural heritage of the Islamic world will be displayed in thematic order. A library housing 100,000 manuscripts and their digital copies will be located on the third floor.[20][21]

Museum

[edit]
a hall in the museum
an exhibit presentation in the museum

The museum consists of five halls dedicated to the Samarkand Codex of the Quran of Uthman, pre-Islamic civilization, Islamic Golden Age, Timurid Renaissance and modern history of Uzbekistan.[22] The Quran of Uthman was moved to the museum in November 2025 from the neighboring Hazrati Imam Complex, where it had been kept since March 1989.[23] Scholars involved in the establishment of the museum include Francois Deroche and Irina Popova.[24][25][26] An interactive children’s museum at the center will feature “living portraits” of renowned scholars.[27] Another wing will be dedicated to prominent women of the past.[28]

Administration

[edit]

On July 25, 2017, diplomat Shoazim Minovarov was appointed the first director of the Center for Islamic Civilization.[29] On June 6, 2024, Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Popularization of the Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan, was appointed the new director of the Center.[30]

International partners

[edit]
  • Outdoor Factory (Turkiye)[31]
  • Wilmotte & Associés (France)[32]
  • Trend Group (Italy) [33]
  • Avesta Group [34]

Projects and exhibitions

[edit]

The Samarkand Kufic Quran, one of the oldest manuscripts of the Islamic world, is exhibited at the spiritual and architectural center of the museum alongside 114 Qur’ans, symbolic of the 114 surahs, dating from different periods. Each of the texts sheds light on the development of calligraphy and the spiritual culture of its time.[35][1]

The center's first major international media project is a series of films narrated by Ben Kingsley.[36]

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "Opening the Islamic Civilization Center in Tashkent: A New Landmark of Memory, Scholarship, and National Identity". The Times of Central Asia. 16 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly". president.uz. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  3. ↑ "PQ-3080-сон 23.06.2017. O'zbekiston Respublikasi Vazirlar Mahkamasi huzurida O'zbekistondagi Islom madaniyati markazini tashkil etish chora-tadbirlari to'g'risida". lex.uz. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  4. ↑ "Центр исламской цивилизации будет создан в Ташкенте". Газета.uz (in Russian). 2017-09-01. Archived from the original on 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  5. 1 2 Umarova, Nigora (2026-03-18). "Shavkat Mirziyoyev Tours New Islamic Civilisation Centre". Kursiv Media Uzbekistan - Kursiv Media Узбекистан – Деловой портал. Новости экономики и политики, бизнеса и финансов в Республике Узбекистан. Прогнозы и аналитика финансового мира. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
  6. ↑ Kozlova, Marina (2026-03-18). "Mirziyoyev thanks Usmanov for his contribution to the Center of Islamic Civilization". Retrieved 2026-03-28.
  7. ↑ "ПП-5186 16.07.2021 О дополнительных мерах по дальнейшему совершенствованию деятельности Центра исламской цивилизации в Узбекистане при Кабинете Министров Республики Узбекистан". lex.uz. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  8. ↑ uza.uz (2021-01-29). "Center for Islamic Civilization: Harmony of Religion, Science and Modernity". Uza.uz (in Uzbek). Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  9. ↑ ICESCO Director-General Visits Center of Islamic Civilization in Tashkent Ahead of Year-End Opening
  10. ↑ Discover Uzbekistan’s Center for Islamic Civilization, a New Cultural Travel Destination
  11. ↑ Center for Islamic Civilization 'will open doors as a symbol of New Uzkbekistan'
  12. ↑ New centre heralded as a 'cultural landmark'
  13. ↑ Uzbek President Mirziyoyev Urges Global Unity, Inclusive Education at UNESCO Conference
  14. ↑ US special envoy for global partnerships, Paolo Zampolli's visit to the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan
  15. ↑ Presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan arrive at Islamic Civilization Center
  16. ↑ "The Center of Islamic Civilization – A Symbol of Our Peoples' Spiritual Power". president.uz. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  17. ↑ Mirziyoyev visited the Center of Islamic Civilization
  18. ↑ "davletovuz". Telegram. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  19. ↑ dunyo.info https://dunyo.info/uzk/mir-ob-uzbekistane/gotovyaschiysya-k-otkrytiyu-v-tashkente-tsentr-islamskoy-civilizacii-privlek-vnimanie-smi-azerbaydzhana. Retrieved 2025-03-12. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ↑ "Islamic Center". cisc.manbalar.uz. Archived from the original on 2025-03-12. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  21. ↑ "The Center of Islamic Civilization – A Symbol of Our Peoples' Spiritual Power". president.uz. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  22. ↑ "В Узбекистане достраивают Центр исламских цивилизаций". The Art Newspaper Russia (in Russian). 2025-01-09. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  23. ↑ Shaheen, Harry; Arbuthnot, Mollie (17 April 2026). "A Soviet history of the Quran of Uthman, or decolonization Bolshevik-style". Journal of Global History: 1–22.
  24. ↑ "Ислом цивилизацияси маркази Ҳиндистон, Эрон ва Туркия олимлари билан ҳамкорлик борасида келишиб олди". uz.fergana.media (in Uzbek). Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  25. ↑ "The Vatican Library is planning to engage WOSCU in the study of its archives". society.uz. 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  26. ↑ "The Knight of the Legion of Honor will assist the CIC in creating a facsimile edition of '114 Qur'ans.'". society.uz. 2024-10-29. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  27. ↑ Discover Uzbekistan’s Center for Islamic Civilization, a New Cultural Travel Destination
  28. ↑ Tashkent’s Center for Islamic Civilization to Highlight the Role of Prominent Women in History
  29. ↑ "Shoazim Minovarov Islom madaniyati markaziga rahbar bo'ldi". Газета.uz (in Uzbek (Latin script)). 2017-07-26. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  30. ↑ UzDaily. "Firdavs Abduhalikov appointed as Director of the Center for Islamic Civilization". UzDaily.uz. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  31. ↑ The Center for Islamic Civilization, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
  32. ↑ Centre for Islamic Civilisation, Uzbekistan
  33. ↑ An Italian company made mosaics for the new center for Islamic civilisation
  34. ↑ Construction projects: The Center for Islamic Civilization, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
  35. ↑ Center for Islamic Civilization 'will open doors as a symbol of New Uzkbekistan'
  36. ↑ Ben Kingsley Lands New Role with Uzbekistan's Center for Islamic Civilization
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