DUSHANBE, May 19, 2010, Asia-Plus -- An official ceremony of presentation of Dushanbe as Capital of Islamic Culture for the year 2010 took place in Dushanbe yesterday.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Emomali Rahmon noted that the Tajiks considered the religion of their fathers and grandfathers a source of morality and dignified behavior.  

He noted that due to national independence of Tajikistan, religious values had secured worthy place in society and they served education of the rising generation and development of self-consciousness of the people.

President Rahmon stressed that the Tajik capital now had 18 Friday prayer mosques and 40 mosques for daily prayers.  Islamic University of Tajikistan functions in Dushanbe, he said.

According to presidential press service, by president’s decree the OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and the ISESCO Director General Abdul Aziz bin Othman Al-Tuweijry were awarded the Order of Ismoili Somoni.

After the ceremony, participants of the ongoing 37th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) visited the Dushanbe Botanical Gardens, where an exhibition of handicrafts and cultural relics, calligraphy, national costumes, and national dishes of Tajikistan has been organized.

We will recall that the Executive Committee of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) designated Dushanbe as Capital of Islamic Culture for the year 2010 at its session in June 2009.

ISESCO was established by the OIC in May 1979.  ISESCO is one of the largest international Islamic organizations and specializes in the fields of education, science, and culture.  Its headquarters are in Rabat, Morocco.

According to the ISESCO website, its objectives include strengthening and promoting and consolidating cooperation among Member States (OIC) in the fields of education, science, culture and communication, developing applied sciences and use of advanced technology within the framework of Islamic values and ideals, consolidating understanding among Muslim peoples, and contributing to the achievement of world peace and security, particularly through education, science, culture and communication.