In 2020, Kazakhstan will celebrate the 1150th anniversary of the scientist, philosopher Abu Nasr al-Farabi, the decree on forming the State Commission on preparation and holding of the anniversary was signed by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The great scientist and philosopher was born on the Kazakh land in 870, in the city of Farab, (now Otyrar of the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan) at the confluence of the Arys River with the Syr Darya, at that time the city was a major political, trade and economic center. According to legend, before the fall of Otyrar, it housed a huge library, second in size only to the Alexandria one. Its creation is attributed to al-Farabi. The scientist is a native of the Türks, which can be evidenced by the word "Tarkhan" in his full name. Having received his initial education at home, al-Farabi then studied and worked in the large cities of Central Asia, Bukhara and Samarkand. The philosopher spent many years in Baghdad, the cultural and political center of the Arab Caliphate. Here he studied various branches of science and languages. In addition, there was a school of translators in Baghdad, where the works of Aristotle and Platon were studied and translated . There he became acquainted with the works of ancient Greek philosophers, becoming one of the founders of Eastern Peripatetism, a medieval Arabic-speaking Muslim philosophy based on the authority of Aristotle. The Eastern philosopher began to be called the "Second Teacher" after Aristotle. It is known that the range of his knowledge was very wide - from religion, mathematics and philosophy, to music and politics. Al-Farabi's scientific heritage is about 200 scientific works covering different branches of knowledge. His most famous works are: "Treatise on the views of the inhabitants of a virtuous city", "Philosophical treatises" and "Big book on music". The scholar's works were translated into Hebrew and Latin in Medieval Europe. In December 950, at the age of 80, al-Farabi died in Damascus. In 2007, the governments of Kazakhstan and Syria agreed to cooperate in the construction of a historical and cultural center and al-Farabi mausoleum, restoration of the mausoleum of Sultan Az-Zahir Baybars in the Syrian capital. Kazakhstan financed the construction of a museum-mausoleum and an ethnocultural center at the burial site of Abu Nasr al-Farabi. It was not possible to transfer the facility to Syria at one time due to the martial law introduced in the country. Until 2016, the protection of the facility was provided by the Kazakh side. Nevertheless, it is assumed that the historical and cultural center and the mausoleum of al-Farabi and Sultan Baybars in Damascus will be transferred to the balance of Syria. In Kazakhstan, the largest educational institution, the Kazakh National University, is named after al-Farabi; there is a library on its territory, also named after the great philosopher. In Shymkent, the Pedagogical Institute of Culture also bears the name of al-Farabi. In August 2019, the Al-Farabi Ethnographic House Museum was opened in Istanbul. The opening of the ethnographic house-museum is timed to the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of al-Farabi. Al-Farabi research and educational centers have been opened and successfully operate in leading universities in Turkey, Jordan, Italy, China, Egypt, Bulgaria and other countries. The 1150th anniversary of Al-Farabi will be celebrated internationally under the auspices of UNESCO in 2020.