Kabul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The largest Islamic
center ever to be built in Kabul, which will include a mosque - like the Faisal
Mosque in Islamabad (pictured) - and a university capable of accommodating more
than five thousand students, will cost 100 million dollars.
The announcement was made yesterday by the Deputy
Minister of the Haj (pilgrimage) and Religious Affairs, Dayi-Ul Haq Abed, who
spoke of a "one of a kind" centre
Saudi Arabia
will both project and fund the centre. An Afghan government official stated
that "the agreement was signed last week in Jeddah. Construction - he added - will begin next
year, more or less in a couple of months. "The center
will be managed jointly by the Ministers for Religious Affairs of the two States.
The Faisal Mosque on which the new structure will be modelled was also built by
the Saudis and can accommodate up to 15 thousand people.
Saudi Arabia is one of three
countries in the world that recognized the Taliban regime after their conquest
of Afghanistan in 1996. The other two were Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.