http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/29/269396/saudis-to-build-islamic-center-in-kabul/
Saudi Arabia is planning to build a major Islamic complex with a university and a mosque in Afghanistan, an Afghan minister says.


Faisal Mosque in Pakistan built by Saudi Arabia in the 1980s

According to acting Hajj and religious affairs minister Dayi-Ul Haq Abed, the construction of the “grand and unique” center willbegin next year.

"The agreement was signed last week in Jeddah. The construction will start next year, in couple of months or so," said Abed, adding that the complex is to be built on a hilltop in central Kabul.

The project has been estimated to cost up to USD 100 million and is expected to house some 5,000 students.

The center is also to be named after Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

It has been said that the mosque is expected to be similar to the Faisal Mosque built by Saudi Arabia in Pakistan in the 1980s.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates were the only three nations to recognize the Taliban rule in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of a report which says the Saudi regime plans to demolish Islamic monuments in the holy city of Medina to turn Masjid al-Nabawi (the Prophet Mohammad’s Mosque) into the world’s largest building, a report says.

The Al Saud monarchy intends to bulldoze three of the world’s oldest mosques in Medina to expand the mosque so that it can host 1.6 million pilgrims.