A high profile international conference took place under the patronage of H.E. Islam Karimov, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in several sessions held in Tashkent and Samarkand on 14 and 15 August 2007. The conference was organized to celebrate the designation, by the OIC's specialized institution ISESCO (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Rabat), of Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, as the Capital of Islamic Culture in 2007. More than 100 experts, scholars, officials, public and religious figures from about 30 countries participated in the conference.

The plenary Opening Session heard the greetings of President Karimov in His message read by Vice Prime Minister Mr. Rustam Kasymov. President Karimov said that for centuries, the territory of modern Uzbekistan served as a bridge which linked the East and West through the Great Silk Road; it was an important crossroads of the various mutually interlaced civilizations and cultures. The President said "The names of Imam Bukhari and Imam Tirmizi, Imam Maturidi and Makhmud Zamakhshari, Burkhaneddin Marghinoni and Bakhauddin Nakshband, Khoja Akhror Wali, our scholars and scientists such as Muhammad Kharezmi and Akhmad Farghani, Abu Raikhan Biruni and Abu AN ibn Sina, Mirza Ulugh Beg and Ali Shir Navai are closely interlaced with Islamic culture and civilization to such an extent that we can never imagine our religion without those great persons, and the names of those great persons -without the religion of Islam." The President continued, "We are not mistaken to say that the role and significance of the rich and invaluable heritage of our great ancestors, which incorporated broad encyclopedic knowledge, ideas and views, and by now did not lose both its scientific and humane value is unique in finding the solution for many contemporary complex problems, objectively interpret and propagate the true meaning and essence of our religion, as well as beaconing the right path for the young generation that now joins our ranks with a profound hope. We highly value our religion and Islamic civilization as an inseparable part of the world civilization, human development and culture. It is also the main factor and criterion in spiritually purifying the people and strengthening the eternal values such as the gratitude, living in peace and tranquility, interethnic and interfaith tolerance, mutual respect, solidarity in their minds. Basing upon such foundation, and most importantly, by apprehending of what great people the descendants we are and what a unique heritage we are the masters of, it is our noble goal to build our free, sovereign and prosperous future, build a life second to none's, and secure the deserved place in the Muslim world and international community...."

Then the session was addressed by: Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the QIC, Dr. Amr Musa, Secretary General of the League of the Arab states, as well as the representative of ISESCO Dr. Muhammd Ali, the Chairman of the UNESCO General Conference Mr. Musa bin Jafar Hassan, and the Director General of IRCICA Dr. Halit Eren. Following these addresses, Mr. Said Nedjad, the Mayor of the city of Isfahan (last year's Capital of Islamic Culture) in Iran, addressed the session and handed over the Symbolic Key of the Capital of Islamic Culture to Mr. A. Tokhtayev, the Mayor of the city of Tashkent. The ceremony was also addressed by Ministers and high-level officials from various OIC Member States.

"Islam in Uzbekistan dates back to the days of the Third Caliph of Islam, Osman ibn Affan", recalled the OIC Secretary General Prof. Ihsanoglu. "Indeed, some of the founders of Islamic tradition and universal scholars were natives of this region. Over the centuries, the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya developed in such a way as to make of this country one of the cradles of world civilization. Uzbekistan can take pride that its place in Islamic history reflected in the bravura of Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, indeed match the contemporary cultural centers of Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba and Istanbul." The Secretary General then asked, "One wonders, without the contributions of such illustrious figures as Ibn Sina, Khwarezmi, Biruni and Ulugh Beg, would human civilization be able to reach its present status in philosophy, in various fields of science; mathematics, astronomy and medicine? Would the traditions of Prophet Mohammed reach us if Imam Bukhari and Imam Tirmizi had not recorded collections of the Prophet's teachings? Would we be able to develop our present understanding of the Holy Quran without the works of Abu Layth Samarkandi and Zamakhshari? Would Islamic law reach its present level of sophistication, weren't the contributions of Serahsi and Nasafi?" The Secretary General expressed his belief that the conference would not only serve to give a renewed sense of pride in the people of Uzbekistan of their Islamic identity but will also inspire them doing what is necessary to project and uphold the true image of Islam and interests of Muslims.

In his address, Dr. Halit Kren referred to the remarkable production of knowledge that emanated from Uzbekistan starting from the early centuries of Islam which contributed tangibly to the development of Islamic civilization through the works of the illustrious figures in astronomy, mathematics, medicine, metaphysics and the various religious sciences. "Parallel to that", he said, "it saw the growth of cities such as Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva, which represent the urban spirit of Islam which is one of the main features of civilisational process. These developments endowed Uzbekistan with its distinct cultural and architectural heritage well known to the international community today, its historical sites registered in the world heritage list, and the numerous manuscript and printed works produced in this region and their reproductions which are part of library collections around the world and on which studies are conducted." Dr. Kren outlined the activities of IRCICA in which the scientific, architectural and cultural aspects of Uzbekistan were highlighted; among them, the international symposium on Science and Technology in the Turkish and Islamic World organized in 1994 on the occasion of Ulugh Begs six hundredth birthday, jointly with the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, the Turkish Society for History of Science, Bosphoru-s and Marmara Universities, UNESCO and the Turkish Institute for Scientific and Technical Research.

After the opening, six scholarly themes were treated in parallel sessions; twelve paper were presented at each session by participants from around the world. The themes were:

- Peculiarities of the formation and Development of Islamic Civilisation in the territory of Uzbekistan
- Development of Muslim Theology and Secular Sciences in the Epoch of Eastern Renaissance
- The Role of Central Asian Thinkers in the Development of Islamic Thought
-Development of Muslim Architecture and Art
- Manuscripts and Material Monuments of Uzbekistan and the heritage of All-Islamic Civilisation
-International and Inter-confessional Dialogue is the Basis of Tolerance.

On the second day of the conference, the sessions were held at the Ulugh Beg Medrese in Samarkand: the proposals formulated during the first day's sessions were summed up and the conclusions and recommendations of the conference were announced.

The conference program included visits to the renovated and reconstructed historical monuments and the newly built mosques and madrasas in the cities of Tashkent and Samarkand.

- IRCICA Newsletter

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