Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan is seeking to bring its centuries-old Islamic scientific and cultural heritage into contemporary global discourse through artificial intelligence, digital storytelling and stronger international media partnerships, speakers told an international media forum in Tashkent.
The International Media Forum, “Islamic Civilization: A New Perspective, New Discoveries,” brought together media executives, journalists, producers, experts and representatives of international organisations from more than 40 countries. Held from August 24 to 26, the forum focused on the contribution of Islamic civilization to humanity, the preservation and reinterpretation of historical heritage, and the role of modern media in communicating Central Asia’s intellectual legacy to international audiences.
Speakers at the forum argued that preserving manuscripts, artefacts and historical sites was no longer sufficient on its own, saying that cultural heritage must also be interpreted through contemporary perspectives and presented through digital platforms, documentaries, multimedia products and other forms of storytelling capable of reaching younger and international audiences.
Dr. Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Director of the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan, said the country’s independence had provided an opportunity to reclaim its historical narrative, restore national memory and undertake a more objective study of the scientific and cultural achievements of earlier generations.
He described the Islamic Civilization Center as more than a museum or architectural complex, portraying it as a bridge between the past and future and an international platform for presenting Uzbekistan’s contribution to world civilization.
The Center, developed following an initiative announced by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the United Nations in 2017 and officially opened on March 17, 2026, presents Uzbekistan’s civilizational development through exhibitions covering pre-Islamic civilizations, the First and Second Renaissance periods and contemporary Uzbekistan. Its Qur’an Hall houses the Uthman Mushaf, described by the Center as one of the world’s oldest and most valuable Qur’anic manuscripts.
Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan.
Abdukhalikov said international media cooperation was central to efforts to make that heritage accessible globally. “The Center has worked with international broadcasters, news organisations, production companies and publishers on documentaries, television programmes, publications and other projects.” He said the forum should move beyond dialogue and lead to concrete agreements, joint media projects and long-term cooperation.
More than 100 media materials have been produced in cooperation with Euronews, according to the presentation, while projects with CNN have addressed Uzbekistan’s historical heritage, contemporary development and the Islamic Civilization Center. Film and documentary initiatives have also involved BBC Studios, TRT and other partners, while publishing projects have included books, albums and facsimile editions.
The effort also extends to recovering cultural objects associated with Uzbekistan from collections abroad. Abdukhalikov said that manuscripts and artefacts were being identified in museums, libraries, private collections and auction houses, with more than 2,000 artefacts repatriated as of June 1, 2026.
He said the achievements of scholars including Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Al-Farghani, Imam al-Bukhari, Imam al-Tirmidhi and Al-Maturidi should be presented not only as part of Uzbekistan’s national history but as elements of humanity’s shared intellectual heritage. Modern documentaries, podcasts, virtual exhibitions and digital platforms, he said, could help take that legacy beyond museums and specialist scholarship.
That intersection between ancient knowledge and contemporary technology was illustrated by INKSIGHT AI, a joint project of the Islamic Civilization Center and Russia’s Sber aimed at using artificial intelligence to read, transcribe and eventually translate historical manuscripts written in Arabic script.
Uzbekistan holds around 100,000 Arabic-script manuscripts in state and non-state institutions, according to figures presented at the forum, while experts estimate that a comparable number could remain in private collections.
The manuscripts encompass numerous writing styles, with approximately half written in nastaliq and 30 percent in naskh, prompting developers to initially concentrate the AI system on those two scripts.
The project seeks to address one of the principal obstacles confronting manuscript scholarship: the enormous amount of specialist time required to decipher historical handwritten material. Developers said INKSIGHT AI can visually identify individual lines and convert handwritten text into machine-readable Arabic.
According to figures presented at the forum, the system can transcribe a 130-page manuscript in approximately 90 minutes, compared with an estimated three months to one year for an experienced specialist. Processing a single page takes around 40 seconds, compared with one to three days of human work, with project calculations suggesting the system can operate up to 6,000 times faster than a specialist.
The initiative is intended not simply to accelerate transcription but to make large manuscript collections more accessible for identification, digitisation, research and international scholarly circulation.
The presentation suggested that artificial intelligence could dramatically reduce the time needed to process collections that might otherwise take generations of specialists to examine.
