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At the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan, the World Calligraphers Competition to create a unique copy of the Qur’an will be announced on August 26 as part of the International Media Forum “Islamic Civilization: New Perspective — New Discoveries.”

The project “The Qur’an of the world: from calligraphic traditions to the heritage of the future” will be presented by calligrapher Habibullo Solih, Director of the School of Calligraphy at the Islamic Civilization Center. The unique copy of the Qur’an is envisioned to bring together the finest traditions of Islamic calligraphy representing different countries and schools of calligraphy.

The competition will be officially announced during the media forum’s plenary session titled “Heritage uniting the centuries: the spiritual meanings of Islamic civilization.” The session will take place on August 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The session will also feature an international discussion on the role of the media in overcoming stereotypes and Islamophobia. Representatives of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as government institutions and media organizations from Algeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Mali, and Uzbekistan, will participate.

The program also includes a number of projects dedicated to the Qur’anic and manuscript heritage. These include “114 Qur’ans: 114 masterpieces of calligraphy from the Islamic world,” the international project “The Katta Langar Qur’an: facts and legends,” as well as “Artificial intelligence — a digital key to reading ancient manuscripts.”

It should be noted that today, Uzbekistan is reviving its calligraphic traditions at the institutional level. The School of Calligraphy, established at the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan on the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is currently operating. The school plans to teach traditional calligraphic scripts such as Thuluth, Naskh, Nasta‘liq, Ruq‘ah, Diwani, and Kufic.

The art of calligraphy also holds a special place in the new Imam Bukhari Complex in the Samarkand region. The façades and walls of the complex’s iwans are adorned with inscriptions featuring hadiths from “Sahih Bukhari.”

The Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center and the School of Hadith Studies also operate within the complex.

As a reminder: the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan will serve as the main venue for the International Media Forum, which will be held in Tashkent and Samarkand from August 24 to 28. The forum will bring together 300 representatives of the media and expert community from nearly 50 countries, including executives of media companies, news agencies and television channels, journalists, producers, scholars, and creative industry professionals.