International contest seeks to create a unique handwritten Qur’an while promoting the heritage of Islamic calligraphy

By Sadiq Abdulfatah

Uzbekistan is set to launch an international calligraphy project aimed at producing a unique handwritten copy of the Qur’an by bringing together traditions from different Islamic calligraphy schools.

The initiative, titled “Quran of the World: From the Tradition of Calligraphy to the Heritage of the Future,” will be presented on August 26 at the Center of Islamic Civilization in Tashkent during an international media forum.

Habibullo Solikh, head of the centre’s calligraphy school, said the project will involve a global competition designed to unite different calligraphic traditions in a single Qur’an manuscript.

The initiative will be unveiled as part of a wider forum focusing on Islamic civilization, which is expected to draw about 300 media professionals and scholars from nearly 50 countries.

The forum will also examine the media’s role in challenging stereotypes and Islamophobia, with representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and delegates from Algeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Mali and Uzbekistan expected to participate.

Other initiatives to be showcased during the gathering will focus on the preservation of Islamic manuscripts and the use of artificial intelligence to decipher ancient texts.

The project builds on Uzbekistan’s existing calligraphy tradition, with its calligraphy school teaching classical scripts including Thuluth, Naskh and Kufic.

Islamic calligraphy is also featured at the new Imam al-Bukhari complex in the Samarkand region, which houses a hadith research centre.

The planned Qur’an project is expected to provide a platform for different calligraphy traditions to be represented within a single manuscript while highlighting the continuing heritage of Islamic calligraphy.

Source: Muslim network