A meeting with the director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (UK) Farhan Nizami was held at the Muslims Board of Uzbekistan.
The guest was informed about the reforms implemented in Uzbekistan, in particular, the activities carried out by the leadership of our country on ensuring peaceful life and activities of representatives of various religions and nations.
The Head of our state at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, revealing the true humanistic essence of Islam, proposed the adoption of a special resolution on “Enlightenment and religious tolerance”, which became a vivid example of noble initiatives of Uzbekistan in the sphere of religious tolerance and aroused great interest among the world community.
Interreligious relations in our country today are studied by many states and are recognized as a worthy example for the whole world. This is confirmed by the fact that this year authoritative international experts studied the reforms that are being implemented in Uzbekistan in the sphere of ensuring freedom of religion, belief and positive experience in this direction. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief of the UN Human Rights Council Ahmed Shaheed highly appreciated the religious situation, interethnic and interreligious relations in our country.
The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, established in 1985 in the UK, is engaged in supporting the research of Islam, stimulating international cooperation between scientists and institutions for the study of the Islamic world, propaganda for the development of Islam in various publications.
Relations between the Centre and the Republic of Uzbekistan were established in the first years of independence. In 1993, the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed statements on cooperation, in 1994 – a memorandum of cooperation with Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies.
The main purpose of the visit to our country of the founder and head of the center Farhan Nizami is to develop cooperation with departments and institutions of Uzbekistan engaged in research of the Islamic world and discuss joint projects in cultural and humanitarian sphere.
Issues of the exchange of professors and teachers between the scientific research institutions of our country and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, implementation of joint projects were considered. Memoranda of cooperation between the Center for Islamic Civilization of Uzbekistan, Imam Bukhari International Research Center, Tashkent Islamic University and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies were signed.
Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Farhan Nizami met with the first deputy chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sodiq Safoyev.
Farhan Nizami also held negotiations at the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Abu Rayhan Beruni of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Westminster International University in Tashkent.