Abdelilah Benarafa: We are very pleased with the opening of ICESCO’s regional office at the Islamic Civilization Center.
On the occasion of the grand opening of the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan, the Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Abdelilah Benarafa, shared his remarks, reports the “Dunyo” News Agency correspondent.
Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Abdelilah Benarafa:
On behalf of ICESCO, I sincerely congratulate the people of Uzbekistan and the President on the commencement of activities of the Islamic Civilization Center, which was inaugurated in the final days of the blessed month of Ramadan.
This center is one of the great monuments of Islamic civilization and is considered among the largest centers in the world. Its opening in the final days of Ramadan carries special significance.
We are very pleased with the opening of ICESCO’s regional office at the Islamic Civilization Center. In this regard, our organization notes that Samarkand has been declared the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World for 2025, and previously Tashkent and Bukhara were also granted this status.
Our organization is planning, in cooperation with the Islamic Civilization Center, to organize an international conference dedicated to Imam al-Bukhari and his work “Al-Jami’ as-Sahih.” The conference is expected to take place in early June this year.
A very important manuscript — the Uthman Mushaf — is also preserved at the Center. This sacred book is displayed under the grand dome of the complex. The dome, approximately 65–66 meters high, symbolizes the number of letters in Surah Al-Ikhlas.
Once again, we congratulate Uzbekistan and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the opening of this important center. We hope that the ICESCO office at the Center will operate on a permanent basis and host various conferences, seminars, and exhibitions.
