CAIRO, August 28, 2018 (MENA) - Director of Uzbekistan's Centre for Islamic Civilisation Shoazim Minovarov said he handed over an invitation from Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmed Tayyeb to visit the Asian state in mid October. In an interview with MENA on Tuesday, Minovarov - who is currently visiting Egypt - said he had talks with Egyptian officials at the Foreign Ministry, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Egyptian National Library and Archives, the Museum of Islamic Art and Azhar University. He reviewed with Egyptian officials ongoing efforts to set up the Centre for Islamic Civilisation in Tashkent. The three-storey centre will house a museum, a library and a youth training centre for handicrafts, he said. The Uzbek government will bear most of the cost of the top-notch centre, noting that there will also be some official sponsors from the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The centre aims at highlighting the essence of Islam and its sublime values of peace, tolerance and innovation and show how Islam has nothing to do with violence, terrorism and extremism, he added. He added that the centre will conduct Islamic researches. He voiced hope that Azhar University would play a key role in the centre as well as contribute to upgrading the Islamic educational system in Uzbekistan.
