The documentary Return of the Uthman Qur'an , which was filmed jointly by the Cinema Agency of Uzbekistan, the World Society for the Study, Preservation and Promotion of the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan, NAEMM as part of the media program "New Uzbekistan. New Look”, BBC Uzbek Service and Sevimli TV channel, tells the unique story of the ancient Uthman Muskhaf.
– It is symbolic that such kind of project was created during the holy month of Ramadan. The more people in Uzbekistan and around the world will see this film, the happier we will be. This will definitely be a key factor in our joint work with the Cinema Agency of Uzbekistan on the next major projects, - said Khaiyullo Fayz, Editor at BBC Uzbek News Service.
The proposal to create a film about the Uthman Qur'an was put forward in 2019 during the visit of General Director of the Agency of Cinematography Firdavs Abdukhalikov to the Uzbek Service of the BBC.
– In September 2017, during the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev put forward a special resolution entitled “Enlightenment and Religious Tolerance”, where the establishment of tolerance and mutual respect, freedom of religion are recognized as one of the most important issues. Based on the words of the Head of State, the film Return of the Uthman Qur'an is focused on the principles of religious tolerance. I will not be mistaken if I say that the film will please not only our compatriots, but all Muslims. Return of the Uthman Qur'an is planned to be shown on the country's TV channels on the eve of the Ramadan Hayit holiday.
In addition to a special presentation of the documentary, there will be organized programs on the film and creative talks. I believe that the film premiere in the holy month of Ramadan will be an excellent gift for the holiday,” said Furkat Usmanov, director of the SUE Studio of Documentary and Newsreel Films.
The idea and project management by Firdavs Abdukhalikov, script and presentation by Luiza Iskandariy, directed by Mehribon Alizoda, photography director Azizbek Normatov, artist Alisher Umrzakov.
Filming took place in Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand, Kashkadarya regions and St. Petersburg.
The film is focused on the circumstances of sending this rare sacred manuscript to Russia at the end of the 19th century, as well as its being in the Imperial Library in St. Petersburg, and its subsequent transfer to the Muftiate (Islamic High Council) in Ufa. The circumstances of the Uthman Qur'an's return to Uzbekistan in 1923 are restored on the basis of archival documents. The film also uses eyewitness accounts of the transmission of the Uthman Qur'an to the Muslim Board of Central Asia and Kazakhstan in 1989.
As you know, hundreds of thousands of Muslims and tourists from all over the world come to Tashkent every year to see the Qur'an, which is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World list. The Uthman Qur'an is the oldest surviving copy of the Qur'an.
According to world experts, Uzbekistan is a unique country in its kind, which has two rare Uthman Qur'ans. The creative team told about the first Qur'an two years ago in a joint film with BBC Uzbek - Facts and Myths of the Qur'an Katta Langar.
