Saudi Plan to Build Mosque in Afghanistan Raises Worries
"We hope that establishment of the centre by Saudi Arabia will not amplify all those madrassas in Afghanistan, Pakistan and some other countries that are known for spreading extremism, terrorism and fundamentalism," Afghan religious scholar Hedaytullah Hedayat told OnIslam.net.
Hedayat stressed that the new centre should dedicate its efforts to spread the true Islamic teachings that are meant to spread harmony, peace and tolerance.
With an estimated cost of $100 million, the center on a hilltop in central Kabul will house up to 5,000 students in this massive Islamic center, complete with a university and a mosque which will be named after Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
The mosque, similar to the Faisal Mosque in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, also built by oil-rich Saudi Arabia in 1980s, will host 15,000 worshippers at a time.
The Afghan government has long been anxious about the role of some religious seminaries that preach militancy in Pakistan.
Kabul government officials, however, have assured that the centre’s education programs will be overseen by the Ministry of Hajj and Islamic Affairs to assure that no individual or group exploits the devotee Afghans for their political objectives.
"Education curricula for the centre will be monitored by the Ministry of Hajj and Islamic Affairs and this will help all those who want to get an Islamic education inside the country," acting Minister of Hajj and Islamic Affairs Yousaf Niazi told journalists .
Unlike neighboring Pakistan, Afghanistan has been enjoying a relatively calm atmosphere regarding the inter-sect ties between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
