Uzbekistan announces a global calligraphers' competition for creating a unique Qur'an.

On August 26, within the framework of the international media forum "Islamic Civilization: A New Look — New Discoveries" at the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, a worldwide competition of calligraphers for creating a unique copy of the Qur'an will be announced.

 

The project "The Qur'an of the World: From Calligraphic Traditions — Toward the Heritage of the Future" will be presented by calligrapher Habibullo Solih, director of the School of Calligraphy under the Center for Islamic Civilization. The unique copy of the Qur'an is intended to embody the best traditions of Islamic calligraphy characteristic of various countries and calligraphic schools.

 

The competition will be solemnly announced at the plenary session of the media forum titled "Heritage Uniting Centuries: Spiritual Meanings of Islamic Civilization." The session will take place on August 26 from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM.

 

Within the framework of the session, an international discussion dedicated to the role of mass media in overcoming stereotypes and Islamophobia will also be organized. Representatives of state bodies and media from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as from Algeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Mali, and Uzbekistan, will participate in it.

 

The program also includes a number of projects dedicated to the Qur'an and manuscript heritage. Among them are "114 Qur'ans: 114 Pearls of Calligraphy of the Islamic World," the international project "The Great Langar Qur'an: Truth and Legends," as well as the project "Artificial Intelligence — A Digital Key to Reading Ancient Manuscripts."

 

 

It should be noted that today, calligraphic traditions in Uzbekistan are being revived at an institutional level. Under the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, the School of Calligraphy, established on the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is operating. This school plans to teach traditional script styles such as suls, naskh, nasta'liq, ruq'a, diwani, and kufic.

 

The art of calligraphy also holds a special place in the new Imam Bukhari complex in the Samarkand region. The facades of the complex and the walls of its aivans are adorned with inscriptions containing hadiths taken from the work "Sahih al-Bukhari."

 

Additionally, the Imam Bukhari International Scientific-Research Center and the School of Hadith Studies operate alongside the complex.

 

The main venue of the international media forum, to be held in Tashkent and Samarkand on August 24-28, will be the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan. It will bring together about 300 representatives of the media and expert community from nearly 50 countries — heads of media companies, news agencies and television channels, journalists, producers, scholars, and specialists in the creative industry.