IRCICA Newsletter Issue 72

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Cultural EventsTashkent declared“Capital of Islamic Culture 2007”Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekstan, has been declared the“Capital of Islamic Culture 2007” by the Organisation of theIslamic Conference. The OIC’s annual program of “Capital ofIslamic Culture” is coordinated by the Islamic Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO).As IRCICA was informed by the Embassy of Uzbekstan inAnkara, the President of Uzbekstan H.E. Islam Karimovpointed out, in an interview granted to Turkistan Press, thata number of historical and cultural factors contributed tothe selection of Tashkent as cultural capital, but of particularimportance were the city’s wealth of experience and traditionsduring its centuries-long Islamic history and the scientific,intellectual and spiritual heritage of Islam embodied in thiscity. Equally relevant was the importance given by Uzbekstanto the preservation and the study of this heritage, creationof an awareness of it among the younger generations, andmaking it known in the world. During the period of theSoviet Republic, old manuscripts that constitute the writtenpart of this heritage were preserved in foundations’ librariesand studied by interested experts for academic purposes. Alarger usage is made today of these sources, and importanceis given to the restoration and conservation of the written aswell as the built heritage in various cities of Uzbekstan suchas Samarkand, Bukhara, Hiva and Shehrisabz.Restoration programs on some large-scale monuments,started 15 to 20 years ago, continue. In Samarkand, ShahiZinde complex, the tombs of Imam Bukhari and ImamMaturidi; in Bukhara, the complexes of AbdellhaliqGijduwani, Bahaeddin Naqshbend, Masjid al-Kalan, Minaretal-Kalan, The complex of Ahmed Farghani and BuhaneddinMarjilani in Farghana, Hakim Termizi and Imam Termizicomplexes in Surhanderya, the Itchan Kala in Hiva, Dar eltilawain Shehrisabz, the tomb of Sheikh Qasim in Karman,among others, all well-known sites of Islamic heritage, arerestored on the basis of specialized studies and with utmostcare to preserve what remains from the original and theoldest including the various components of their gardensand courtyards. The President of Uzbekstan pointed to theneed to undertake a large-scale restoration and conservationwork in the complex of the Hazrati Imam Mosque whichhouses the copy of the Quran that is attributed to the periodof Caliph Othman, and known as the Tashkent copy.The various cultural heritage preservation programs carriedout by the Government of Uzbekstan will be highlightedduring 2007. A number of international cultural events areplanned within the framework of the “Capital of IslamicCulture” programs, including a scholarly conference on“Islam and Tolerance” to be held in Tashkent. The programswill no doubt contribute in creating awareness and increasingworld peoples’ knowledge on the deep-rooted cultural historyand heritage of Tashkent, and Uzbekstan at large, which haveconstituted one of the oldest and most productive cores ofscientific and architectural production in Islamic history.Competition for writing the“Mushaf (Quran copy) of Qatar” finalisedAt the instructions of H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, a competition was launchedto select the calligraphers to be entrusted with copying theQuran in a new copy to be published under the name ofthe “Mushaf (Quran copy) of Qatar”. The Ministry of Waqfsand Islamic Affairs of Qatar and IRCICA jointly assumedthe coordination of the competition, to select the bestcalligraphers of the naskh style. A jury was set up, chairedby Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Secretary General ofthe OIC, then Director General of IRCICA, and comprisedof the following calligraphy experts: Prof. Mohammad binSaid Sharifi (professor, Higher School of Fine Arts, Algeria),Dr. M. Uğur Derman (professor of calligraphy, Istanbul),calligrapher Hasan Çelebi, who taught the thuluth andnaskh styles to calligraphers from around the world, and Mr.Mohammed Tamimi (IRCICA) as the rapporteur.Calligraphers known for their excellence in the naskh styleand prize-winners of the competitions organised by IRCICAwere invited to participate in the competition. The jury met forthe first time in Doha, Qatar, on 20-22 May 2002 to examinethe first 5-page samples of writing which were submitted bythe candidates in what was a first stage of the competition.Seven calligraphers from four countries were selected. Thenthese calligraphers were requested to write two sections fromthe Quran each, in what would constitute the second stage ofthe competition. Those to be commissioned to copy the entireQuranic text in one and half years were to be chosen fromamong them. This second stage was finalised during a secondmeeting of the jury, which was held at IRCICA, in Istanbul,on 18-21 October 2002. H.E. Mr. Ahmed Bin Abdullah al-Mirri, then Minister of Waqfs and Islamic Affairs of Qatar,was present at the meeting. After examining the trial textssubmitted by six calligraphers from four countries, the juryselected the following two calligraphers, who were thencommissioned by the Ministry to copy the entire Quran: Mr.Ubayda Mohammad Salih al-Banki (Syrian) and Mr. SabahMagdid al-Arbili (British).The Jury held its final meeting in Doha, Qatar, on 17-20 January 2007, under the chairmanship of H.E. Prof.Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. Dr. Khalifa bin Jassim al-Kawari,Chairman of the Qatari Committee overseeing the project,participated in the meetings. The purpose of the meetingwas to determine the first and the second of the above24 Newsletter JANUARY-APRIL 2007, NO: 72
two calligraphers on basis of technical criteria, taking intoaccount such factors as precision and beauty in writing,stability of the calligrapher’s hand, consistency of the writingin all pages, non-overlapping of the words, spelling, equalityof the spaces, in addition to stylistic considerations. TheJury selected Mr. Ubayda Mohammad Salih al-Banki as thewinner of the first prize ($ 100.000) and Mr. Sabah Magdidal-Arbili as the winner of the second prize ($ 50.000). Theresults were announced at a press conference on 20 January2007. Prof. İhsanoğlu, Secretary General of the OIC andChairman of the Jury, underlined that this event takingplace in Qatar was the first of its kind on the subject. Herecalled the beginnings of the project with the initiative ofthe State of Qatar to have a copy of the Quran produced andbear its name, and consequently, the efforts of IRCICA, theidea to choose the best calligraphers to participate in thecompetition; although their number was at first estimated atabout twenty, 120 calligraphers submitted their works; thebest seven of whom were selected. Finally, the process wasreduced to the selection of two calligraphers. Dr. Khalifa binJassim al-Kawari said that the Mushaf would be completed inone year’s time, following a scholarly review of the winningcopy. After the event, the two copies were presented to H.E.Mr. Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Minister of Waqfs andIslamic Affairs, together with the gilding and illuminationworks which were prepared by three gilders in Istanbul forconsideration for use in printing the copy.of Calligraphy and their Evolution through the Ages” by Dr.Uğur Derman, and “Technical Terms on Arab Calligraphy”by Dr. Idham Hanash.A closing ceremony was held on the last day of the exhibition,during which the contributions of some calligraphyspecialists were acknowledged: thus, the Department ofTourism presented to calligrapher Hasan Çelebi the “Awardof Distinguished Contributions in Calligraphy”, an awardcreated this year, in recognition of his outstanding services,especially his training a large number of calligrapherswho are known in the present day. The Department alsoexpressed gratitude to H.E. Mr. Abdurrahman Al-Oweis,Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development,for his patronage of calligraphy and calligraphers, and Mr.Mohammed Al-Murr, Chairman of Dubai Cultural Counciland member of IRCICA Governing Board, for his continuoussupport of activities related to the art of calligraphy; theDepartment presented certificates of appreciation to Dr.Halit Eren, Director General of IRCICA, and the supervisorsand participants of the exhibition. This was the first timethe exhibition was held in the newly opened Cultural andScientific Association. Its building, endowed with a library,a theater and multi-purpose halls has become a landmark ofthe heritage of Dubai.The Fourth Session of the Dubai InternationalExhibition of Arab Calligraphy held in February2007Under the auspices of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin MohammedBin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Executive Councilof the Emirate of Dubai, the Fourth Session of the DubaiInternational Exhibition of Arab Calligraphy was organisedby the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing,Dubai, with the cooperation of IRCICA. The exhibition wasopened by H.E. Mr. Khalid bin Sulaim, Director General ofthe Department of Tourism and Dr. Halit Eren, DirectorGeneral of IRCICA, on 22 February 2007, at the newheadquarters of the Cultural and Scientific Association inAl-Mamzer. High officials and dignitaries from the UnitedArab Emirates attended the event.Twenty one calligraphers from nine countries (Iran, Iraq,Jordan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates,U.S.A.) participated in this exhibition. About 70 works weredisplayed, in various styles of calligraphy, including thuluth,naskh, diwani and kufi. Several workshops were held duringthe period of the exhibition. Lectures were delivered on thefollowing topics: “Arab Calligraphy: Word and Form” by Dr.Venetia Porter, “IRCICA’s Generation of Calligraphers andthe Experience of Mehmet Özçay” by Mohammed Tamimiand calligrapher Mehmet Özçay, “The Expressive Role ofArab Calligraphy” by Dr. Rawdhan Bahiyyah, “The Six StylesOpening by Mr. Khalid bin Sulaim, Director General, Department ofTourism, Dubai and Dr. Halit Eren, Director General, IRCICAThe Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development of theU.A.E. Mr. A. Al-Oweis (in the middle) met with the calligraphersJANUARY-APRIL 2007, NO: 72 Newsletter 25
Page 1 and 2: JANUARY-APRIL 2007, NO. 72IRCICA Aw
Page 3 and 4: EditorialAt our Centre, the past th
Page 5 and 6: The Prime Minister gave a comprehen
Page 7 and 8: Visit of H.E. Mintimer Shaimiev, Pr
Page 9 and 10: Signing of the Memorandum of Cooper
Page 11 and 12: H.H. the Prime Minister addressed t
Page 13 and 14: “Isfahan Cultural Week”held at
Page 15 and 16: West. Prof. Barışta also introduc
Page 17 and 18: Announcement of the results at a pr
Page 19 and 20: Mentions (500 $)Winner Country Coun
Page 21 and 22: International congress on “Islami
Page 23 and 24: “Semerkand: Architecture and Urba
Page 25: Distinguished guests* On 12 January
Page 29 and 30: H.A.R. Gibb and Costi K. Zurayk (
Page 31: IRCICA PublicationsSultan II. Abdü

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