JEDDAH, 31 May 2006 — A three-member delegation from Uzbekistan said yesterday that the country was looking for Islamic specialists.
“Until the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, our religion (Islam) was suppressed and we need our people to know more about it,” Dr. Shukhrat Yovkochev, adviser to Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and leader of the delegation, told Arab News.
One of the steps taken is to establish the Tashkent Islamic University, founded by the Uzbek president.
Some 1,000 students are currently enrolled in the university seeking to improve their knowledge and qualification about various aspects of the religion including law.
According to him, 90 percent of the country’s 26 million people are Muslim. The remaining 10 percent are multiethnic represented by 138 nationalities
Uzbekistan is also keen to cooperate with the Kingdom in the intellectual field. “We’ve reputable research institutes in engineering, medicine, math and chemicals, and we can cooperate and collaborate with the Kingdom in imparting knowledge through such institutes,” he added.
The delegation had meetings with the Ministry of Haj, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Islamic Development Bank.
The IDB has extended assistance to a few projects in that country. “We’ve eight ongoing projects with IDB’s assistance,” he said, adding that the country has received some grants from the IDB for constructing educational and medical institutions.
Dr. Abdulhay Abdullayev, rector of the Tashkent Islamic University, said he was keen to promote interaction with the Kingdom’s universities and establish a link with one of them. “Our objective is also to cooperate and collaborate with institutions of Islamic studies,” he said.
Thirty of Uzbek students are currently pursuing Islamic studies in the Kingdom and 158 others in Egypt.
