The manuscript of the Uthmanic Mushaf preserved at the Library of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan is currently undergoing codicological examination.
This research involves a team of scholars including Shaykh Alijon Qori Fayzullah, Head of the “Qur’an and Tajwid Education” Department; Kamoliddin Mahkamov, Head of the Library Department; and Jahongir Qori Nematov, Head of the “Qur’anic Studies” Department at Tashkent Islamic Institute.
Shaykh Alijon Qori Fayzullah emphasized the importance of observing accuracy and trustworthiness when studying and reproducing the script of the Mushaf. He highlighted significant rules of orthography and recitation (qira’at) related to the original handwriting of the Uthmanic Mushaf currently kept at the “Muhi Muborak” Madrasa Museum.
The digital copy of the original Uthmanic Mushaf serves as the main object of the study. In preparing the critical text, researchers also refer to other ancient copies of the Mushaf preserved in Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Each line of the manuscript is being carefully rewritten, with verse and line numbers marked in red. Any textual discrepancies found in the 19th-century copied version are noted in the margins and explained through scholarly commentary.
With the support of the Fund for the Development of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan, both local and international experts — including Dr. Christine Rose from the University of Cambridge, French restorers Achel Delaeau and Coralie Barbe, and Nil Baydar, Head of the Istanbul Manuscripts Workshop and Archive Department — have developed a phased restoration plan to ensure the long-term preservation of the sacred manuscript.
Press Service of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan
Kuwait’s “Al Jarida” newspaper has published a series of articles by journalist Rabih Kallas following his visit to Uzbekistan, focusing on the country’s rich tourism potential, reports Dunyo IA.
Articles, titled “Tashkent – Pearl of Central Asia and a worthy tourist destination for Kuwaitis” and “Samarkand – a city that has crossed the centuries and still amazes the world”, provide detailed and highly appreciative accounts of the hospitality of the Uzbek people, safety and cleanliness, modern infrastructure and the country’s rich heritage of the Great Silk Road.
According to the author, capital of Uzbekistan offers a complete tourist experience, harmoniously combining safety, hospitality, and a rich Islamic heritage. The spacious and green streets of Tashkent, high standards of cleanliness and calm, peaceful atmosphere, the journalist notes, can completely change the usual perceptions of Arab tourists. Particular attention is paid in the article to the unique architecture of the Tashkent Metro, the Quran attributed to Caliph Uthman ibn Affan preserved at the Hazrati Imam Complex, as well as the significance of the Center of Islamic Civilization established in the capital for the cultural development of the region.
The second part of the series focuses on Samarkand, a city with more than 2,700 years of history that occupied a strategically important position at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road. The city’s architectural jewels, whose flourishing reached its peak during the era of Amir Timur and the Timurids - Registan Square, the Shah-i-Zinda Complex, the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, and the Mirzo Ulugh Beg Observatory - are presented as outstanding examples of Eastern civilization.
Kuwaiti journalist particularly emphasizes that Uzbekistan is one of the most attractive and suitable destinations for family tourists from the Gulf countries, particularly Kuwait. Among the country’s advantages, he highlights the widespread availability of halal cuisine, the modern high-speed Afrosiyob trains, as well as its unique national culinary heritage - plov, Samarkand bread and a wide variety of vegetables and fruits - which make travel across the country even richer and more meaningful.