Jinnah Antarctic Research Station, operational since 1991, emerges as likely site of inaugural salah in Antarctica amid Pakistan’s polar scientific missions.
The Jinnah Antarctic Station, Pakistan’s permanent research facility established in 1991, is recognized as the first confirmed location where Islamic prayers (salah) were performed on the Antarctic continent.
Situated in the East Antarctic region, the station has served as a scientific and logistical base for decades.

Operated by Pakistan’s National Institute of Oceanography, the station conducts year-round studies in glaciology, marine biology, and climate science.
Since its inauguration, Muslim members of winter-over teams have maintained prayer routines within designated spaces at the base, despite extreme cold, months-long darkness, and isolation.
While informal worship likely occurred earlier during transient expeditions, documented communal prayers began with the station’s continuous operation.

A small musallah (prayer area) was established inside the main living module, oriented toward Mecca using calculated qibla directions specific to the Antarctic region.
Antarctic Treaty protocols respect all forms of religious observance across research stations. The Government of Pakistan confirmed the station remains active today, with ongoing research and religious accommodation for personnel.
The station is named for Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan.
Egypt's largest daily newspaper “Al-Ahram” published an article by Ibrahim Negm, Senior Advisor to the Grand Mufti of Egypt, dedicated to his participation in the 1st International Forum of Islamic Civilization, which took place in Tashkent, Samarkand and Termez, reports Dunyo IA.
According to the author, the forum, held under the motto “The Path of Peace, tolerance and enlightenment”, exceeded all his expectations in terms of organization. Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan made a particularly profound and unforgettable impression on the scholar.
Article notes that the author was fascinated by the unique manuscripts, thousand-year-old copies of the Quran, and modern exhibition technologies presented at the Center. In his opinion, the past here is not merely displayed to visitors - thanks to modern museum solutions, each exhibit seems to acquire a new life.
Recalling his years of study at Harvard University, Ibrahim Negm discusses the theory of the “clash of civilizations”. He notes that despite the interpretation of this concept, according to which Islam was viewed as the main rival of the West, he had always doubted its scientific validity. According to the author, the Islamic civilization has never been in a state of stagnation and has never lagged behind global development.
During his visit to Uzbekistan, Ibrahim Negm visited historical and modern sites of the country's cultural and spiritual heritage, including the Center of Islamic Civilization, the Imam al-Bukhari complex, the Hakim al-Termizi mausoleum, and other shrines of the Islamic world. Based on the results of the trip, he concluded that the Islamic civilization and its rich spiritual and scientific heritage continue to dynamically develop, entering a new stage of their historical development.
Author also emphasizes that the Mushaf of Uthman, kept at the Center of Islamic Civilization, is one of the most valuable written relics not only of Uzbekistan but of the entire Islamic world. According to him, this manuscript represents a crucial source for studying the history of preserving the text of the Holy Quran in the first centuries of Islam.