Up to 300 media representatives from 50 countries gather in Tashkent and Samarkand today for the start of the International Media Forum “Islamic Civilization: New Look – New Discoveries,” organized by the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan.
The Forum brings together global media, cinema, publishing, science and digital technology to present Islamic civilization’s contribution to human progress to international audiences in new and compelling ways – through the works of great scientists and thinkers, ancient manuscripts, unique artifacts, documentary films, publishing projects and artificial intelligence. Its aim is to make this heritage understood and valued by audiences worldwide.
The initiative builds on a proposal by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the UN General Assembly in 2017, to present Islam as a religion of peace, knowledge and tolerance. At a time when global media increasingly shape how societies understand one another, that idea carries particular international weight. The Forum sets out to show that the achievements of Islamic civilization – from Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Fergani and Ibn Sina [emphasis mine] to the intellectual and cultural legacy of the Timurid and Baburid eras – belong not to one region or religion alone, but to the shared heritage of humanity.
Participants include heads and representatives of 26 television and radio companies, 24 international publications, 14 newspapers, and five international media associations. CNN and Euronews are the Forum’s general media partners.
The programme combines plenary sessions and professional discussions, documentary screenings, presentations of international media and publishing projects, and meetings between journalists, directors, producers and publishers, alongside the signing of cooperation agreements. A central question running through the sessions is how to tell the story of historical and spiritual heritage in today’s language – through documentary filmmaking, television, publishing, museum technology, artificial intelligence, digital avatars and immersive formats.
Delegates will view the Center’s manuscript and artifact collections firsthand, record interviews, and identify subjects for future documentaries, books and digital projects. The programme also includes a visit to Samarkand – among other sites, the Imam al-Bukhari Memorial Complex and UNESCO World Heritage landmarks – timed alongside events marking the 35th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence.
Beyond showcasing existing work, the Forum is designed as a launchpad for new international partnerships – joint films, television programmes, books and digital media projects.
“The International Media Forum continues the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, voiced at the UN General Assembly in 2017, to reveal to the world the true humanistic essence of Islam – grounded in knowledge, enlightenment, peace and tolerance,” said Dr. Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Director General of the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan. “At the initiative of the head of state, extensive work is under way to study and preserve the legacy of great scientists and thinkers. Today, it is essential to tell that story in a modern language – through world media, cinema, books, digital technology and artificial intelligence. This is how the President’s vision translates into concrete international media projects reaching millions of people worldwide.”
The Forum marks a new stage in the Center’s long-term strategy: from informing the world about Uzbekistan to co-creating international content that reveals the country’s historical, scientific and cultural heritage through contemporary media.
A growing global network
The Center’s materials and projects have reached media in 65 countries, including 246 news items and sponsored features, seven full-length co-produced documentaries, 27 video projects, 23 television stories and more than 60 books.
The Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan initiates and sponsors a number of international media partnership projects aimed at promoting Uzbekistan’s cultural, historical and intellectual heritage on the global stage. With the Center’s sponsorship, Euronews and CNN have produced more than 25 television and digital features on its history, architecture and collections, and on the return of cultural treasures to Uzbekistan – reaching a combined television audience of over 400 million viewers. Further documentary and special projects have been produced with TRT World and TRT Avaz, while sponsored coverage of Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage has appeared on the BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and National Geographic. Cooperation with Al Jazeera Media Network is currently under discussion.
Among the Center’s flagship projects is the documentary series Echo of Enlightenment, featuring Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley, which traces the legacy of Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Fergani, Ibn Sina and other Central Asian scientists [emphases mine] alongside the cultural achievements of the Timurid and Baburid eras. Broadcast on the BBC, CNN and Euronews, the series has reached a combined audience of more than 418 million viewers, and one instalment, Whispers of Wisdom, has won international recognition including the official SILKFEST 26 award in Belgrade and the Terres Travel Festival in Tortosa, Catalonia.
The Tashkent and Samarkand Forum builds directly on this record – moving from individual media projects toward systematic cooperation with the world’s leading newsrooms, broadcasters, directors, producers and publishers, and the joint creation of new global media content on Islamic civilization.
…
About the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan
Opened in March 2026, the Center for Islamic Civilization is located on the historical site of Shash, in the heart of Tashkent, next to the spiritual center of the capital, the Hazrati Imam complex. The three-story building measures 145 by 115 meters, and its central dome rises 65 meters.
The Center’s exposition is based on the Uthman Quran, one of the oldest surviving handwritten copies of the Quran in the world. The manuscript is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World program, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of documentary heritage of world importance.
The area of the main museum exposition is about 15,000 square meters; In addition, the complex includes a research center, digitization laboratories, as well as conservation and restoration workshops. Visitors will be able to see rare artifacts of different historical periods, returned from abroad, including those purchased at international auctions and from private collectors at the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan. The exposition also presents collections of museums from around the world and the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Promotion of the Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan (WOSCU). Interactive exhibitions tell about the outstanding achievements of the Islamic Golden Age in the fields of algebra, astronomy and medicine.
Even before the official opening, the Center received wide international recognition. In 2026, it was named one of the most beautiful museums in the world by the Prix Versailles, included by Smithsonian Magazine and BBC Travel in the list of the most anticipated new museums of the year, and also listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest museum dedicated to Islamic civilization.
A December 29, 2025 news item (partner content: Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan) on Euro News highlights some of “Echo of Enlightenment’s|” science content, Note: All emphases are mine,
A new cultural project from Uzbekistan is challenging how the history of science is usually told. Known as Echo of Enlightenment, the initiative places Central Asian scholars back into a global narrative that often begins in Europe and skips several centuries of intellectual exchange along the way.
Led by the Center for Islamic Civilization in Tashkent, the project is part of a broader effort to present Uzbekistan not only as a historical crossroads, but as a birthplace of global ideas that continue to shape modern life – from algebra and astronomy to medicine and cartography.
…
At the centre of the project is a 10-part documentary series, each episode dedicated to a scholar or cultural figure from the Islamic Golden Age with connections to the territory of present-day Uzbekistan. The films combine dramatic reenactment, expert commentary, historical research and modern animation to explain complex ideas and bring the stories to life.
…
Among the featured figures are Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, whose work laid the foundations for algebra and algorithms; Ahmad al-Fergani, whose astronomical calculations later influenced explorers like Columbus; and Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, a polymath and early pioneer of fields such as geography and anthropology.
Another episode focuses on Ibn Sina, known in Europe as Avicenna, whose Canon of Medicine remained a standard university text well into the early modern period.
The series also devotes significant attention to the Timurid era, often described by historians as Central Asia’s “Second Renaissance”. Viewers are introduced to figures such as Amir Timur, the first Timurid ruler who turned Samarkand into a centre of learning; Mirzo Ulugbek, the 15th-century astronomer whose calculations of the Earth’s year were among the most accurate of his time; and Ali Kushchi, who helped spread astronomical knowledge westward.
Cultural life is not neglected. Episodes on Alisher Navoi, Kamoliddin Behzad and Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur explore how literature, miniature painting and political leadership developed alongside scientific inquiry, reinforcing the idea that knowledge systems rarely exist in a vacuum.
One of the most visually striking instalments recreates Ulugbek’s 15th-century observatory and astronomy school in Samarkand, highlighting their influential role as beacons for scientific inquiry.
…
In doing so, Echo of Enlightenment makes a broader argument: that modern science emerged through centuries of cross-cultural exchange, not in isolation. For European audiences, the series offers a reminder that ideas long taught in Western universities often have roots further east.
Rather than nostalgia, the project presents continuity – a case for seeing Islamic civilization not as a closed chapter, but as an active contributor to the shared intellectual history of today’s world.
The Center for Islamic Civilization (CISC) in Uzbekhistan was previewed in a December 5, 2025 article by Rebecca Cairns for CNN (also a CISC partner), Note: Links have been removed,
Four times taller than the Hollywood sign and around seven times larger than the White House, Uzbekistan’s newest cultural center is a monument of epic proportions.
Part museum, part academic research facility, the three-story Center for Islamic Civilization (CISC) in Tashkent will be open to the public in March 2026, and is intended to celebrate and revive Uzbekistan’s historical role as a center of Islamic scholarship.
“This region has been home to many ancestors who influenced world civilization,” said 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 past eight years, while the building was under construction, CISC engaged 1,500 specialists from more than 40 countries to help develop the center’s scientific, architectural and cultural elements.
For example, through an “interactive educational zone” that leverages virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence technologies for exhibits such as conversations with “living portraits” of historical scholars and thinkers, the center hopes to inspire children to explore astronomy, medicine, literature and art.
The second floor will be dedicated to research, where international academics can access more 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.
Reviving the past
While Uzbekistan is a secular nation, Islam is a key part of its history and cultural identity.
Arab conquests brought Islam to Central Asia in the 7th century, replacing earlier Zoroastrian and Buddhist traditions, and between the 9th and 12th centuries, the region experienced a golden age of science, literature, and architecture.
Medieval Uzbekistan, and the wider Central Asian region, was “a globalized world before globalization,” said historian Farhan Ahmad Nizami, founding director of the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford, who’s not connected to the CISC.
Uzbek cities like Bukhara and Samarkand were important stops on the Silk Road, a cross-continental trade route that stretched from Venice to Xi’an for 1,500 years (130 BCE to 1453 CE), and became a confluence of culture and ideas from both 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, in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Timurid Empire would see a second renaissance of art, science, and diplomacy, with Samarkand at its center, an era that the CISC’s architecture draws inspiration from with its grand, mosaic-covered archways, blue tile-covered domes and intricate ornamentation.
The building, designed by Abdukakhkhor Turdiev, draws inspiration from classical Islamic architecture of Central Asia, particularly the Timurid era.CNN
In the 19th century, Russian expansion saw many parts of Central Asia incorporated 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 until 1991 that Uzbekistan regained independence and began reviving its Islamic heritage and cultural identity. To this end, CISC was given a directive to recover its historic items.
…
There are criticisms of the center, relating to its cost, the sources of its funding, and the limited religious freedom in the country.
…
Cairns’s December 5, 2025 article includes more information and many more embedded images of the stunning CISC.
I have three relatively recent stories about the influence Middle Eastern scientists have had on European science,
An April 22, 2025 posting: “Arabic manuscript containing lost works of Apollonius discussed in new book about Middle Eastern science (etc.) scholarship” about a hidden debt to Arabic and Muslim scientists such as Ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini
A July 9, 2025 posting: “Copernicus’ cosmological model strongly influenced by ancient Muslim astronomer Ibn al-Shatir?”
A July 24, 2024 posting: “11th century Arab-Muslim optical scientist laid groundwork for modern-day physics,” scientist al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham known in Latin as “Alhazen”
Going back further,
A November 9, 2015 posting: “Science in Muslim universities report, a science and Islam exhibit, and a debate about science and Islam”
The exhibit, “1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World” is also an organization called 1001 Inventions and it has a website. It seems that long ago exhibit was the first in a series of 1001 Inventions programmes. Here’s more from the organization’s About 1001 Inventions page, Note: A link has been removed,
…
1001 Inventions is a UK based not-for-profit science and cultural heritage organisation co-founded in 2006 by award-winning British producer, philanthropist and social entrepreneur Ahmed Salim.
1001 Inventions creates and delivers global educational initiatives aiming to spark young people’s interest in science while promoting diversity and inclusion.
Through a network of strategic partners, 1001 Inventions has engaged and educated more than 500 million people globally through world-class transmedia productions including interactive exhibits, films, immersive live shows, hands-on workshops, digital content, books and learning material.
…
About 1001 Inventions
1001 Inventions is an award-winning international science and cultural heritage organisation that raises awareness of the creative golden age of Arabic Science.
From the 7th century onwards, men and women of different faiths and cultures built on knowledge from ancient civilisations making breakthroughs that have left their mark on our world.
Join us on a journey to the past to inspire a better future!
This really is a reminder that science is a collaborative endeavour (with many influences such as literature, poetry, architecture, etc.) and that knowledge flows back and forth amongst many peoples as it is enriched by that collaboration.
