In a bid to strengthen the Saudi-Pakistan relationship, King Salman has approved a project to build a grand mosque at the new campus of International Islamic University (IIU) campus in Islamabad.
The mosque, named the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Mosque, will be built along with a research and cultural center at the new campus.
The entire project is worth $32 million and will cover an area of 41,200 square meters. It will include a prayer hall, a library, a museum, all named after King Salman who is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Read more: Saudi crown prince says kingdom offers $6 trillion investment opportunities over next decade
The project will also have a conference hall named after Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, in addition to administrative facilities and ancillary services.
#BREAKING: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman approves a grand mosque project at the International Islamic University in #Islamabad. pic.twitter.com/udsZdKuy3a
— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) May 7, 2021
The mosque alone will have a capacity of 12,000 worshippers. Both the prayer hall and the courtyard of the mosque can accommodate about 6000 worshippers each. The ablution facilities for men and women occupy an area of 1000 square meters.
The proposed model of the mosque is said to be an exceptional representation of Islamic art and architecture.
Read more: Hagia Sophia Mosque: Resonating the Revival of Islamic Identity
The research center
As for the research center, it will focus on the Arabic language, Islamic culture, and heritage. The center will be equipped with digital technology to provide online Arabic courses from Islamabad to the whole world.
In addition to this, according to an IIU official, Saudi Arabia would send 15 professors from some of the top universities in the kingdom to teach Arabic, Shariah, and other Islamic subjects.
Read more: Teaching Arabic made compulsory in educational institutions across Islamabad
The Saudi professors will be financed by the government of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government will also announce 250 fully-funded scholarships for needy students in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s advisor on religious harmony, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, said that the people of Pakistan were thankful to the Saudi government for deciding to build the mosque in Islamabad.
“It will be yet another monument of the Saudi-Pak friendship and lead to better progress in the bilateral relations of the two countries,” Hafiz Tahir further added.
Read more: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia both necessity of each other: FM