Four occasions taller than the Hollywood signal and round seven occasions bigger than the White House, Uzbekistan’s latest cultural center is a monument of epic proportions.
Part museum, half tutorial analysis facility, the three-story, $150-million Center for Islamic Civilization (CISC) in Tashkent can be open to the general public in March 2026, and is meant to rejoice and revive Uzbekistan’s historic position as a center of Islamic scholarship.
“This region has been home to many ancestors who influenced world civilization,” stated Firdavs Abdukhalikov, director of CISC. “The big question was how to present their influence to the world, to younger generations, in an engaging and modern way.”
Over the previous eight years, whereas the constructing was below development, CISC engaged 1,500 specialists from greater than 40 international locations to assist develop the center’s scientific, architectural and cultural parts.
For instance, via an “interactive educational zone” that leverages digital actuality, augmented actuality, and synthetic intelligence applied sciences for displays resembling conversations with “living portraits” of historic students and thinkers, the center hopes to encourage youngsters to discover astronomy, drugs, literature and artwork.
The second ground can be devoted to analysis, the place worldwide teachers can entry greater than 200,000 books in its library.
“It’s not just a museum — it’s a cultural and educational platform. Here, we don’t only engage with artifacts, but also with the lives and ideas of influential figures,” Abdukhalikov added.
While Uzbekistan is a secular nation, Islam is a key a part of its historical past and cultural identification.
Arab conquests introduced Islam to Central Asia within the Seventh century, changing earlier Zoroastrian and Buddhist traditions, and between the ninth and twelfth centuries, the area skilled a golden age of science, literature, and structure.
Discover Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Medieval Uzbekistan, and the broader Central Asian area, was “a globalized world before globalization,” stated historian Farhan Ahmad Nizami, founding director of the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies on the University of Oxford, who’s not related to the CISC.
Uzbek cities like Bukhara and Samarkand have been necessary stops on the Silk Road, a cross-continental commerce route that stretched from Venice to Xi’an for 1,500 years (130 BCE to 1453 CE), and have become a confluence of tradition and concepts from each the East and West.
“(Uzbekistan’s) contribution in science and arts is obvious, and now people are rediscovering it, although it had not received sufficient attention,” Nizami added.
Later, within the 15th and 16th centuries, the Timurid Empire would see a second renaissance of artwork, science, and diplomacy, with Samarkand at its center, an period that the CISC’s structure attracts inspiration from with its grand, mosaic-covered archways, blue tile-covered domes and complicated ornamentation.
In the nineteenth century, Russian enlargement noticed many elements of Central Asia integrated into the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union, which imposed secular rule and suppressed Islamic practices.
“A significant portion of our cultural treasures left the country during the Soviet times,” says Abdukhalikov.
It wasn’t till 1991 that Uzbekistan regained independence and commenced reviving its Islamic heritage and cultural identification. To this finish, CISC was given a directive to get well its historic gadgets.
“We have participated in auctions such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, bringing back parts of our cultural heritage. We have reclaimed 2,000 items and are continuing our work on this,” says Abdukhalikov.
The center’s exhibitions discover Uzbekistan’s historical past via these objects, together with the Seventh-century Quran of Uthman, one of many oldest on the planet, and a group of 114 Quranic manuscripts created by famend rulers and calligraphers throughout the ages.
While Nizami stated the center has “tremendous potential,” he cautioned that “the building is a platform; what happens on the platform is entirely different,” stressing that its success will depend on long-term analysis, schooling and cultural engagement.
There are criticisms of the center, regarding its price, the sources of its funding, and the limited religious freedom within the nation.
CISC declined to touch upon the constructing’s price or funding sources.
A development fireplace in September delayed the center’s authentic launch, however the primary development work has been accomplished.
With round 60% of Uzbekistan’s inhabitants below the age of 35, Abdukhalikov stated that the museum is for the subsequent era.
“We have to inspire them and tell the story of our great history through innovation and creativity,” he added.