RABAT, July 22. /Dunyo IA/. Director General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) Salim bin Mohammed Al-Malik gave an exclusive interview to the Dunyo IA.

- Mr. Director General, today we would like to talk to you about Uzbekistan, where you have visited many times. How do you see our country, how would you assess its history, culture, its modern development and its place in the international arena?

- In the name of Allah, praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon the Prophet of Allah. When I look at the flag of Uzbekistan with its inspiring and expressive colors, I realize the true meanings that make this flag not just a banner, but a message that expresses in colors a country with a glorious past, symbolizing a land of fertility and abundance and a peace-loving nation.

Blue, the color of water and sky, reflects the vastness, broad hopes and ambitions of a people who possess the art of dreaming and the skill to achieve it.

White color expresses the strong attachment of the Uzbek people to peace, justice and progress.

Green color reflects on the flag the fertility of the oases of Syrdarya and Amudarya, the rivers of paradise, about which the noble hadith about the Prophet is narrated.

The Uzbek land is home to a people who embrace life, striving for knowledge and peace. It has become a triumphant nation, proving its deserved place among enlightened nations.

Undoubtedly, Uzbekistan is a blessed land, a treasury of the science of spirituality, a keeper of the greatest heritage of Islamic civilization. But today we see that it is also a country - an innovator, ready to give the world the Third Renaissance, a country open to cooperation, which has proved its commitment to secular democratic development, reviving its culture in step with the times.

Uzbekistan's active position in the international arena today is obvious. As far as our organization is concerned, it is only worth noting that over the past 15 years Tashkent, Bukhara and Khiva have been declared capitals of Islamic culture, which is a tribute of great respect to the country's history and recognition of its significant contribution to the development of the religion of Islam and Islamic culture.

- How does ICESCO assess Uzbekistan's efforts to revive its great history, reveal its invaluable historical, cultural and spiritual heritage to the world, preserve and multiply it for future generations, and what support does the organization provide in this process?

- We can see what great efforts Uzbekistan is making to promote the humane principles of Islam, to study the spiritual heritage of the great Hadith scholars, to perpetuate their memory, to educate the younger generation, to strengthen religious tolerance and to create opportunities for people to visit the shrines of Imam Bukhari, Imam Termizi, Imam Motruridi, Bahauddin Naqshband are inextricably linked with Uzbekistan and its perception in the Islamic world. It is a great honour for us to develop cooperation with your blessed country, which has nurtured these theologians.

Cooperation between Uzbekistan and ICESCO began when the organization declared Tashkent the capital of Islamic culture in 2007. Since that happy day, we have been fruitfully interacting on the basis of mutual interests, respect and in the name of strengthening our sacred religion - secular and enlightened Islam.

We are happy that all members of our organization have supported the declaration of Samarkand as the capital of the Islamic world in 2025. We are ready to support all initiatives of Uzbekistan to hold events within the framework of this year.

- Could you please share your views on the attention paid in New Uzbekistan to the development of science and education, including the study of the spiritual heritage of the Uzbek people.

- May Allah bless the efforts and initiatives of the head of Uzbekistan, esteemed Mr. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, aimed at elevating the role of education and science, preserving and multiplying culture.

We see how comprehensively and wisely he approaches these crucial issues of society's development. The head of state understands well that spirituality is the dome of the historical building and the foundation of a worthy future for the people. It has been formed over centuries out of millions and millions of human destinies; it cannot be measured and cannot be exhausted.

Thanks to scrupulous analysis and scientific objectivity, the efforts of scientists have rediscovered the most important pages of Uzbekistan's history and rehabilitated the names of many prominent figures of culture, science and the ancestors of the Uzbek people. First of all, the era of Amir Temur and the Temurids, which predetermined the Eastern Renaissance, has received a new scientific substantiation. The spirit of enlightened Maverannahr, the flourishing of science and culture in the Temurid era had a favorable impact on the European Renaissance and contributed to the global progress. Sahibkiran Amir Temur is today the pride not only of the people of Uzbekistan, but also of all mankind.

The sacred names and unique works and deeds of great thinkers of the East - Al-Bukhari, At-Termezi, Khoja Ahmad Yassawi, Bahauddin Naqshbandi, Al-Beruni, Abu Ali ibn Sina, Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi, Ahmad Al-Ferghani, Mirzo Ulugbek, Alisher Navoi, Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur and other geniuses of the Uzbek land - have been restored.

Priorities have been clearly and precisely prioritized for the upbringing of the younger generation to make it a worthy successor of the nation's spirituality.

The International Centre for Islamic Civilization, the Imam Bukhari International Research Centre and the Imam Termizi Research Centre, established on the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, deserve high praise for their commitment to the preservation and study of the enormous heritage of the Uzbek people and their enormous contribution to the development of science and enlightenment.

- We would like to know your opinion about the policy in the spiritual sphere pursued in our country. How, in your opinion, the rise of spirituality can affect the modern processes of the country's development?

- History testifies that such a civilization surge, which gave impetus to the rapid flourishing of culture and education, medicine, literature, art and architecture, craftsmanship, trade and construction, was made possible primarily thanks to the preservation of peace and stability in the region. Therefore, if we look at the large-scale changes and successes taking place in Uzbekistan in recent years in all spheres of human activity, and especially in the sphere of culture and art, from the perspective of the cyclical nature of historical science, we can justifiably speak of them as the Renaissance of the independence era.

The path chosen by Uzbekistan to revitalize spiritual values has confirmed its rightfulness in the sphere of culture, where the state has become not only the main reformer, but also the patron of arts. Today we see how constructive this support has been, and what a tremendous impetus it has given to the development of art.

Spirituality, culture and art are a powerful force that easily penetrates into the human heart. That is why it is so important to realize that there are such sacred concepts that unite people and inspire them to new feats related to the interests of the Motherland and the people, to the principles of kindness and humanism. If every person perceives them as the main goal of his life and knows how to reveal them in his activities, then, undoubtedly, the results of this work will in the full sense of the word serve spiritual perfection and fulfill their social task.

- Thank you, Mr. Al-Malik, for your informative answers.

- Thank you.