The Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is actively registering Islamic heritage sites in Russia to ensure their preservation, ICESCO Director-General Salem bin Mohammed al-Malik told an interview with TASS First Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman.
"Many of today's achievements are built on Islamic civilization," - noted al-Malik. - "That's why we started by creating a special center, which we call the Center for the Registration of Islamic Heritage. We have a committee that handles registration requests, and we've invited Russia to participate. We already have several Russian sites on our list, including the observatory at Kazan Federal University and the Kazan Kremlin."
Inclusive Approach
Al-Malik emphasized that ICESCO is not only registering Islamic cultural heritage sites but also all heritage sites preserved within the Islamic world, including Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist sites. "This is very important. We are open to cooperation with all interested parties," he said.
In 2019, only 17% of the world's cultural heritage was in ICESCO member countries, which include 53 countries - the Maldives, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and others. "We thought this was very little. More concerning was that 60% of these 17% were under threat," he explained. To address this, ICESCO established the center and began diligently working, employing highly qualified specialists in cultural heritage.
ISESCO aims to "protect, preserve, and restore these sites" and to educate young people on how to maintain their culture, restore heritage sites, and integrate culture into their identity. The organization also employs innovative methods such as using solar energy to protect some cultural sites. Some museums in Egypt and other countries are now environmentally safe, showcasing ICESCO's commitment to sustainable preservation.
Currently, ICESCO has registered 624 tangible and intangible heritage sites, with a goal of reaching 1,000 by 2025.
"Culture is identity. Without culture, you have no identity. If you don't believe in culture, you cannot leave the past behind and succeed in the future. ICESCO is an organization that must value culture and our heritage. Culture in the Islamic world is diverse and extremely important. At one point in history, Islamic civilization was the world's leading civilization," concluded al-Malik.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Mohamed Watany/Creative Commons 4.0
Based on materials from TASS