Firdavs Abduhalikov (right) and Mahmud Erol Kılıç. Photo: CIC press service.
Uzbekistan’s Center of Islamic Civilization (CIC) and the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) are launching a major project to produce a multi-volume encyclopedia dedicated to Islamic scholars who lived on Uzbek soil in different historical periods. The CIC press service reported the initiative.
The first joint meeting — to select authors, form the academic board, and define the conceptual framework of the publication — will take place soon in Tashkent.
The decision to create the encyclopedia was made during a meeting in Istanbul between CIC Director Firdavs Abduhalikov and IRCICA Director General Mahmud Erol Kılıç.
IRCICA also proposed preparing a special album-book highlighting reforms, cultural and educational initiatives in Uzbekistan, as well as joint projects carried out in recent years.
Both sides emphasized the effectiveness and long-standing nature of CIC–IRCICA cooperation and underscored its importance in strengthening ties in the fields of scholarship and culture. Following the meeting, Abduhalikov invited Kılıç to the official opening ceremony of the Center of Islamic Civilization of Uzbekistan, scheduled for March 2026.
IRCICA is an international research center of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which unites 57 member states.
The Center of Islamic Civilization is located next to the Hazrati Imam complex. The building is designed in the style of medieval architectural monuments, with four portals 34 meters high and a central dome of 65 meters. It includes a Quran hall, a 460-seat conference hall, and a museum with exhibitions covering the entire history of Uzbekistan — from pre-Islamic eras to the present day. The CIC aims to serve as a platform for studying and reinterpreting the heritage of the ancestors in collaboration with the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan and scholarly and educational institutions around the world.
