President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has visited the Imam Bukhari memorial complex. 

At the opening ceremony of the 43rd session of the Foreign Ministers Council of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the capital city Tashkent on 18 October 2016, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev put forward an initiative for the construction of an international scientific research centre at the Imam Bukhari memorial complex to study the rich heritage of Uzbek people’s great ancestors. 

They had made an incomparable contribution to the development of Islamic culture and world civilization. 

The President considered this scientific research centre construction project. 

This research centre will be engaging in studying the precious scholarly and moral heritage of Imam Bukhari and other great thinkers, publishing scholarly interpretations of their works, collecting electronic copies of manuscripts being kept in libraries and achives in this country and abroad and making them available for people in Uzbekistan and the international community. 

Land has been allocated near the Imam Bukhari memorial complex, and the research centre’s construction project has been drawn up. 

The President gave special attention to the essence and significance of this international research centre. It was said that there was a need to work out a comprehensive approach to the promotion of Islamic culture at this establishment. 

There is a unique moral-spiritual atmosphere at the Imam Bukhari memorial site, the Head of State said.

Those who come to visit this memorial complex should also enter this research centre and study teachings of Uzbek people’s forefathers. Then this feeling of pride in their hearts will grow. 

It was also said that there was a need to study separately the rich heritages of great muhaddiths (hadith experts), Imam Bukhari, Imam Termizi; great law experts, Burhaniddin Marghiloni, Abdullays Samarqandi; and Koranic experts Abu Mansur al Moturidi and Abdul Muin Nasafi and to train good specialists with thorough knowledge about this sphere. 

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a conversation with scholars that leading scholars of this country should provide researchers at this centre with training in Arabic calligraphy and in proper pronunciation and intonation in reading aloud Koranic suras. 

At the meeting, it was also said that there was a need to restore the former glory of the Mir Arab madrasah in Bukhara. Instructions were given to repair its building and provide it with modern technological equipment. 

Within the grounds of the Hazrati Imam complex in the capital city, an Islamic development centre will be created, the Head of State said. There too, like the Imam Bukhari international research centre, specific examples should be cited to make it clear that Uzbek people’s great forefathers had made an incomparable contribution to Islamic education. 

Information was also given about a project of reconstruction of trading and services facilities around the Imam Bukhari memorial complex. This will create additional conveniences for pilgrims and is of great significance to the further development of the area’s infrastructure. 

Anvar Samadov, Matnazar Elmurodov, photo by Farhod Kurbonboyev, UzA