ISESCO chooses Jerusalem as Capital of Islamic Culture

By Khalid Mejdoub, Gulsen Topcu

RABAT (AA) - The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) said Thursday it has chosen Jerusalem as the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2019.

Speaking at a press conference in Morocco's capital Rabat on ISESCO’s declaration of 2019 as the Year of Heritage in the Islamic World, Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri said the organization has launched a comprehensive program to boost Islamic and international support for the preservation of cultural heritage in Jerusalem.

He also urged the relevant authorities in the member states of the organization to support the initiative by organizing projects and cultural programs to increase the awareness about the heritage.

Altwaijri proposed to declare other 2019 cultural capitals as brother cities to Jerusalem and urged each of these countries to allocate a week on Jerusalem within the framework of cultural capital programs.