Uzbekistan’s Center of Islamic Civilization is a space of enlightenment and inspiration

At the crossroads of ancient history and modernity, a project has been completed in Tashkent that is being described by some as the most ambitious cultural initiative of New Uzbekistan: the opening of the Center for Islamic Civilization.

A foundation of wisdom

The Center for Islamic Civilization is not merely a museum complex; it is a large-scale cultural and educational megaproject designed to reinterpret the role of Islamic heritage in world history. Its aim is to study Uzbekistan’s own cultural and historical legacy and to preserve it for future generations.

The idea for the Center was first put forward by Uzbekistan’s President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in 2017 from the podium of the United Nations, where he articulated the ethos behind the project.

“Our most important task is to convey to the global community the truly humanistic essence of Islam. Islam calls us to goodness and peace, to safeguarding the genuine human core,” explained President Mirziyoyev.

Architecture of meaning

Eight years after the President presented this historic vision, it has acquired a visible architectural embodiment. The complex has been erected in the Hast-Imam district – the spiritual heart of Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent.

The 65-meter dome and four portals symbolize the unity of the country’s regions. At the core of the complex stands the Hall of the Holy Qur’an, where the famous 7th-century Mushaf of Uthman (Quranic manuscript), inscribed by UNESCO in the international Memory of the World register, is preserved.

The concept of the exhibitions, enriched with modern digital installations, is built along a chronological axis from the pre-Islamic era, through the First and Second Renaissances, to the New Age and New Uzbekistan.

A future beginning today

“Every day, the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan receives countless messages of gratitude addressed to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for creating in Tashkent one of the world’s major hubs shaping a modern understanding of Islamic civilization as one of peace, goodness, science, enlightenment, and spiritual culture,” said Dr. Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Director of the Center for Islamic Civilization and Chairman of WOSCU.

“Today, everything that for centuries was scattered across the pages of history is being brought together once more,” Abdukhalikov continued. “In the Center for Islamic Civilization, these spiritual heights of the past acquire new unity, transforming into a space of memory, enlightenment, and a future that is beginning now.”

“It is our duty to advance this great project and turn it into a cultural and educational force capable of transforming the fruits of this great heritage into the powerful energy of an enlightened future.”