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It should be emphasized that this was a truly historic visit. Over the course of the past year, the construction of the Center’s building was fully completed. To further enhance the Center’s activities and enrich its content, specialists and designers from more than 40 countries were engaged and mobilized in the implementation of this mega-project, which was conceived and realized on the basis of the respected President’s ideas and initiatives.

In September 2025, from the high rostrum of the United Nations, the Head of State announced that the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan had been completed and would soon be officially opened to the public. It is noteworthy that during this period the internal content of the Center was further expanded and enriched. As a result, the Center has become a unique landmark attracting the attention of the global community.

Today, high-ranking guests arriving from various parts of the world heads of state and government, as well as leaders of international organizations are becoming closely acquainted with the Center’s activities and its scholarly projects dedicated to civilizations, personalities, and discoveries. Prominent figures of international standing are openly acknowledging and affirming this reality, recognizing the Center as a site of global significance.

Today, the world is undergoing a period of profound civilizational transformation. Technological progress is advancing faster than ethical comprehension, while global crises — from geopolitical confrontations to the erosion of cultural identity — are increasingly placing humanity’s capacity for dialogue at the center of the global agenda. At a time when religion is often instrumentalized as a source of conflict and culture becomes a line of division, the need for new platforms capable of restoring the original, creative essence of civilizational dialogue has become especially acute.

It is precisely at such a historic moment that, in the very heart of Eurasia — on a land where great civilizations and empires once emerged, and where for millennia trade routes, religions, scholarly traditions, and cultures intersected — a new and unique space of a different kind has come into being: the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan. Its establishment is neither accidental nor the product of a populist initiative. Rather, it represents a direct manifestation of the strategic worldview of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev.

In 2017, addressing the international community from the rostrum of the United Nations, the President called for the restoration of the authentic place of Islamic civilization in world history. He emphasized that the sacred religion of Islam is founded upon the values of enlightenment, knowledge, and humanism, and underscored that extremism and ignorance can be overcome only through the power of education and culture.

During his visit to the Islamic Civilization Center while it was under construction, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, gave a high international assessment of this direction, stating:

“Your President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is a great and influential leader. From the highest rostrum of the United Nations, he consistently promotes the ideas of dialogue, enlightenment, and mutual respect.”

These words reflect a truth that the international community has already come to recognize: under the leadership of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has ceased to be a peripheral space of history and has instead become one of its active architects.

In turn, the President’s address from the UN rostrum served as an intellectual and scholarly foundation for the Center — not merely as a monumental architectural complex, but as an entirely new humanitarian model of global significance. Within the framework of this model, Islam is presented through the history of great civilizations — civilizations within whose embrace scientific revolutions took place; universities and academies, libraries and laboratories were established; the foundations of medicine and philosophy, art and scientific inquiry were laid; and the intellectual basis of the modern world was formed.

Owing to the personal political will, strategic vision, and consistent leadership of the President of Uzbekistan, the idea of establishing the Islamic Civilization Center has been realized in a truly unprecedented format — unmatched in its scale, conceptual depth, and international significance. A unique civilizational complex has been created that brings together a museum designed to meet the demands of a new era, an advanced research infrastructure, a state-of-the-art library, a national and international archival system covering the development of Central Asian civilizations, digital humanities technologies, and an extensive network of global scholarly and cultural cooperation.

The project also received a high appraisal from the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who stated:

“This is a grand and unique complex. Indeed, it is a scholarly, tourist, and ethnocultural project. I fully agree with the President of Uzbekistan: the Islamic Civilization Center here in Tashkent can become a shared platform for conducting highly important research in this field.”

As international experts emphasize, the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan is not merely an infrastructural facility or a symbolic manifestation of cultural policy. Rather, it represents a conscious civilizational response by Uzbekistan’s leadership to contemporary global challenges. It is a project created — for the first time in the history of the Islamic world — on such a vast scale, conceived as a global and permanent platform for genuine dialogue among civilizations.

In essence, for the first time in its history, Uzbekistan has assumed a historical and moral mission — to confront the distorted interpretations of Islam and the concept of Islamic civilization not through conventional rhetoric, declarative statements at international forums, or abstract conferences, but by creating a real, functioning intellectual space of global significance.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, articulated this meaning with particular clarity, stating:

“By visiting the Islamic Civilization Center established on the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, we once again witnessed the deep commitment of the country’s leadership to preserving and promoting the rich cultural and spiritual values of the Uzbek people. At a time when attacks against our religion are intensifying in some countries and Islamophobia is taking on a systemic character, the opening of the Islamic Civilization Center carries special significance. This Center clearly demonstrates to the entire world that Islam is a religion of creation, humanism, tolerance, friendship, and brotherhood.”

Experts and policymakers unanimously emphasize that this project has become a humanitarian form of protection against radicalism and the distortion of Islam’s image — a shield forged not by force, but by knowledge, culture, and intellectual engagement.

The process of repatriating cultural heritage holds particular significance for the activities of the Center. Pursuant to instructions from the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, special state and diplomatic mechanisms were established, enabling the Center to develop systematic cooperation with the world’s leading auction houses — Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams — as well as with major museum institutions and private collectors. As a result, approximately two thousand unique artifacts have been returned to the country. Among them are manuscripts of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), works by al-Biruni, Timurid-era miniatures, masterpieces of Islamic art, and other invaluable relics that had been kept outside the homeland for decades, and in some cases for centuries.

This represents not merely the enrichment of the Center’s extensive museum exhibitions, but a practical embodiment of restoring the civilizational memory of Central Asia and reestablishing historical justice.

From this perspective, the President of the Republic of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, while becoming acquainted with the Center’s exhibitions, did not conceal his admiration, stating:

“My visit to the exhibitions of the Islamic Civilization Center left a very strong impression on me. Many scientific and cultural achievements that made an invaluable contribution to the development of human civilization first emerged precisely on this land. Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is aware that the earliest foundational works in algebra, medicine, and other fields originated here. This visit inspired me and strengthened my confidence in Uzbekistan’s immense potential. The history of Uzbekistan is truly unique.”

These words stand as a recognition that, owing to the policies of New Uzbekistan, the country has once again begun to engage with the world in the authentic language of its own history.

According to experts and political leaders, the President of Uzbekistan is not limited merely to restoring the past or comprehending the present, but is consistently and purposefully shaping the future. For this reason, the Islamic Civilization Center was conceived from the outset as a dynamically developing system — an international scholarly platform, a media space, a publishing and educational hub. It is here that a new generation of Islamic studies, advanced museum technologies, and innovative approaches to contemporary cultural diplomacy are taking shape.

Following his visit to the Center, the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, remarked:

“To be honest, I found myself in a truly unprecedented whirl of impressions here. Every exhibition, every hall, every detail is deeply and thoughtfully designed. Conveying three thousand years of history to today’s generation in such a modern, powerful, and convincing format requires an exceptionally high level of artistry and great mastery. This Center has not only revived and reinterpreted the heritage of past centuries, but has also become a source of inspiration for future generations. The interactive exhibitions and innovative technologies are particularly impressive—they genuinely captivate young people. Here, history is not simply studied; it is felt. In such an environment, it is impossible to remain indifferent or bored. Every scene, every lighting accent, every detail carries its own meaning and artistic logic. I am leaving this Center with sincere gratitude, deep respect, and a sense of admiration.”

Today, the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan is emerging as an intellectual hub gradually taking shape for the modern world. Just as, in different historical eras, the Bayt al-Hikma in Baghdad, the Ma’mun Academy of Khwarazm, and Ulugbek’s Madrasah in Samarkand played pivotal roles, the Center is assuming a similar significance today. It is not merely a place where knowledge is preserved and accumulated, but a space that transmits an environment shaping the intellectual and spiritual direction of civilizational development.

However, in the present historical moment, the activities of the Center encompass particularly elevated and far-reaching responsibilities. Whereas in the past such scholarly centers emerged within the boundaries of their own eras and cultures — where ideas spread slowly over centuries through manuscripts, translations, and generations — today the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan was conceived from its very inception by the President of the country as an open, global educational and cultural–humanitarian megaplatform.

The Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan represents a new type of civilizational institution characteristic of the twenty-first century. Here, historical knowledge is integrated with digital technologies; manuscripts are transformed into global digital resources; the museum assumes the character of a scientific laboratory; and national heritage becomes a universal medium for international dialogue, mutual understanding, and creative cooperation.

It is fitting to conclude this article with the words of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who stated:

“I have never seen a center like this anywhere before. The Islamic Civilization Center has been built and created in an exceptionally modern and beautiful style. Today I learned a great deal, and I will certainly return here again. I would say the following to all my fellow citizens of Serbia: ‘My dear friends, I made a great mistake, because I had never come to this country before. Please, come and see Uzbekistan as soon as possible.’”

 

Firdavs Abdukhalikov
Director of the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan