UPDATE:
A mihrab at the mosque of Uzbeki legend, Shah Bahauddin Naqshband.
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Uzbekistan: Government Backs Sufism to Counter Wahhabism
May 28, 2002 -- In the wake of a visit between 15 and 20 May to the Uzbek city of Bukhara (500 kilometres or 300 miles west of Tashkent), the "capital" of the Sufi Naqshbandi order in Central Asia, Keston has learnt that currently the Uzbek authorities are not simply not opposing the spread of the Naqshbandi order but, on the contrary, are doing all they can to support it.
ISCA Chairman addresses UNESCO Conference in Uzbekistan
On September 15, 2000,Islamic Supreme Council Chairman Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani addressed the International Conference on Interreligious Dialogue, co-sponsored by UNESCO and the government of Uzbekistan and held in Tashkent from September 14 to 16. On the 18th of September, the shaykh addressed a workshop on "Sufism and Interreligious Dialogue," held in Bukhara, where Sufis from eastern and western spiritual schools gathered together in Uzbekistan for the first time.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov honors ISCA Leaders
On September 8, 2000, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani and Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani were honored to meet with His Excellency President Islam Karimov, Republic of Uzbekistan, last week after the United Nations’ Millenium Summit for world leaders.
In a private meeting in New York, President Karimov and Uzbek Ambassador Sodyq Safaev met with Islamic Supreme Council of America Honorary Chair, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil, Chairman Shaykh Hisham Kabbani and General Secretary, Dr. Hedieh Mirahmadi, to discuss avenues of cooperation for future educational and religious projects.
Uzbekistan is the heart of Central Asia, for centuries the locus for educating and promoting Islam in the entire region. The Uzbeki understanding of mainstream Islam has always been based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and God’s blessings upon him, with emphasis on the spiritual dimension of Islamic knowledge and with great consideration given to upholding Islam’s spiritual tradition.
For this reason, Uzbekistan is renowned throughout the Muslim world as the "nation of two wings." One wing signifies the works of Ismail Bukhari (814 - 885), who collected the traditions of the Prophet in what is considered the most authentic book of Islamic knowledge after the Holy Quran. Imam Bukhari’s mosque and school, in Samarqand, were recently renovated.
The other wing signifies the great Islamic spiritual teacher, Shah Bahauddin Naqshband, (1317 - 1388) who disseminated both external knowledge of Islam and internal gnosis. He permeated the entire area with teachings of love for all and living as one family that God created on earth. His mosque and school were renovated with the assistance of the late president of Turkey, Turgut Ozal, who was a follower of Naqshband’s school.
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Uzbek President His Excellency Islam Karimov with ISCA honorary chair Shakh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani and ISCA chairman Shaykh Hisham Kabbani at UN World Leader's Summit, Sept. 2000.
September 2000
Uzbekistan: Analysis From Washington: Fighting funda-mentalism with Sufism
Radio Free Europe's Paul Goble reports on how the Uzbek government is adopting an Islamic approach to tackling the problem of militant "Islamist" infiltration of the nation.
 ISCA Chairman, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani with Uzbeki Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Sodyq Safaev.
April 2000
Recognizing Naqshbandiyya of Past and Present
In a brief luncheon statement at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ambassador Safaev seized the opportunity to educate his guests on the importance of spirituality and traditional scholarship of past and present. In a special mention, he offered the following introduction of ISCA Chairman, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani.
The Ascension of the Holy Prophet (saws) / Lailat al-Miraj, from a manuscript at the Museum of Uzbekistan.
Visit the BBC's Musical Nomad
The Musical Nomad was a musical journey in Central Asia from Bukhara in Uzbekistan to the Altai Mountains in Kazakhstan - 3500 miles through a magical land full of ancient practice and emotional music with relevant messages for the whole world. |
