The Uzbek government offered the Imam Al Bukhari’s tomb as a Muslim religious tourist site in Uzbekistan, Bernama reported quoting the head of the Uzbek promotion and investment expert group, Khursanov Abdulo.

According to Abdulo, Uzbekistan has a number of old religious sites worth visiting including the tombs of Imam Al Bukhari and Imam Tarmidzi, experts of ’hadis’ - the chief source (Prophet Muhammad’s words and deeds) of guidance for understanding religious questions in Islam.

Tashkent city for instance has a Muslim historical object - the oldest Al Quran book in the world - which is the heritage from Ustman bin Affan’s reign, he said, adding that a house keeping a piece of Prophet Muhammad’s hair is located not far from the site where the Al Quran book is kept.

Quoting Abdulo, the Indonesia’s Antara news agency reported that the tourist package to Uzbekistan could also be included in the haj or minor haj pilgrimage package.

The Uzbek government also provides Uzbekistan Airways to serve foreign tourists, he said.

Abdulo said currently the number of Indonesian tourists to Uzbekistan was smaller than those from Malaysia and Japan.

Meanwhile, Deputy to the Batam Authority Chairman for administrative and planning affairs Prijanto said Muslims are the majority in Batam, and thus he would propose that travel agencies include Uzbekistan as one of religious tourist destinations.