Militant Islam Monitor > Satire > Happy Wahabiday - Saudomite Prince Abdul Aziz celebrates "Seventy Fourth National Day"
Happy Wahabiday - Saudomite Prince Abdul Aziz celebrates "Seventy Fourth National Day"
" An (sic) Historical Stand with King Abdul Aziz The Unifier of the Country of the Two Holy Mosques"
Al 'Yuk'een
April 1, 2004
THE SEVENTY FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE KINGDOM'S NATIONAL DAY. AN HISTORICAL STAND WITH KING ABDUL AZIZ THE UNIFIER OF THE COUNTRY OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES. A RICH RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENTS TO SPREAD PEACE, WELFARE EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT ALL OVER THE WORLD. THE KINGDOM PRESERVES THE STATUS OF GLORY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES, PRINCE ABDULLAH AND PRINCE SULTAN. Seventy Four years ago King Abdul Aziz announced the unification of the Kingdom under the banner of Islam. The unification of the Kingdom opened a new page in the history of the Arabian Peninsula. The unification paved the way for security, stability and development. King Abdul Aziz did not confine his attention to the Kingdom's internal problems, but he also accorded great attention to Arab and Muslim causes, notably that of the Palestinians. King Abdul Aziz exerted his utmost efforts to defend the just cause of the Palestinian people, and clarified the dimensions of the problem to world leaders. King Abdul Aziz stood firm in support of the Palestinians, and voiced sympathy for the legal struggle for liberation of their occupied territories. His sons followed the footsteps of their great father in internal and external policies. King Saud took the path of King Abdul Aziz, and completed the formation of all required organs and institutions of the state. In the era of his successor, King Faisal, the Kingdom began to implement ambitious development plans. Development and progress continued in the era of King Khalid and continues yet in that of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The spread and promotion of education has been an important cornerstone of the Kingdom's policy to accomplish overall progress in line with the latest advances in science and technology. Within this framework, the pioneer of education in the Kingdom, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, since he was the Minister of Education until this day, has been keen to boost education and follow it up, step by step, to match the educational developments of advanced countries. In the light of this special patronage by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the educational sector has made great progress. In 1420/1421AH, the number of students at all educational levels, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, totaled 2,228,397. There were 98,015 classrooms in 12,621 schools and 161,712 teachers assisted students in their educational pursuits. The number of students in elementary, intermediate and secondary levels, increased sharply, while, because of the success of the adult education programs, the number of adult students was reduced from 35,168 students in the year 1419/1420AH to 33,536 students in the year 1420/1421AH. The Ministry of Education has established thousands of schools and other supporting buildings. In 1420/1421AH, the number of schools under the supervision of the Ministry of Education reached 6,209 elementary schools with a total of 1,189,364 students and 89,800 teachers. At the same period, the number of intermediate schools was increased to 3,388 schools with 581,864 students and 43,121 teachers, while there were 1,719 secondary schools, with a total of 389,860 students and 24,761 teachers. The Ministry of Education is keen to develop services for students and establish a special sector for student's affairs. The Ministry of Education also encourages sports, scouting activities and other types of art and scientific activities. In this context, it has established playgrounds, in-door halls and swimming pools. It has also established 150 health care units to provide health services to students. The Ministry has also given attention to schools for Holy Quran Memorization. In this context, it established in the year 1367AH, the first school of this kind in Madinah. By the year 1420/1421AH, the number of Holy Quran Memorization schools reached 510, with a total of 52,049 students and 4,619 tutors. The Ministry also gives great attention to adult education and the elimination of illiteracy and has opened a number of special schools and centres for this purpose all over the Kingdom. In 1420/1421 AH, the number of schools to combat illiteracy and promote adult education totaled 1,107, with 2,152 classrooms and 33,536 students. There are also 180 special schools offering education to disabled boys and girls. On the other hand the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has realized, for many years, the importance of preparing qualified Saudis in order to build the nation. It believes that the cultural and scientific progress of any nation is closely dependent on qualified citizens who can take on the task of building the nation. This trend has been reflected in the successive development plans, which have emphasized the need to develop human resources (the nation's real wealth). The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz was the pioneer of education in the Kingdom. He laid the foundations for the Kingdom's educational system and since then has been following the progress of education with great interest. As a result of this official interest from the Saudi Government, the Kingdom has witnessed great advances in education. The Kingdom now has eight universities in all parts of the country. Each university is academically and administratively independent and has modern dormitories. The government provides all the financial support needed by the universities. These eight universities have 76 colleges, covering 400 specialized fields. These colleges have 10,000 staff and 239,000 students. The Kingdom also has 73 faculties with an estimated 195,000 students. The Ministry of Education has 18 technical faculties, which have an estimated 22,500 students. There are also 5,000 students at health faculties and institutes. The Umm Al Qura University was the first university to be established in the Kingdom, in 1369 AH. The College of Shariah was the first modern higher education establishment. The Umm Al Qura University now has nine colleges that teach more than 50 specialized fields and have more than 31,000 male and female students. The second university is the Islamic University in Madinah Al Munawarah, established in 1381AH, in order to enhance the role of the Kingdom in serving Islam and Muslims all over the world. The University has allocated 58 per cent of its seats to non-Saudi students from more than 105 countries. It has five colleges that teach 16 specialized fields in various Islamic sciences and has more than 4,000 students. The third university is the Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, established in 1373/1374AH. It started with two colleges of Shariah and Arabic Language. The University now has 12 colleges, with more than 51,000 male and female students. The university has affiliated institutes in the United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Indonesia, Japan, Djibouti and the USA. The fourth university is the King Saud University, which was established in 1377/1378AH. It is considered as one of the largest universities in the world, in terms of diversity of specialized fields. It has 62,000 male and female students, studying at 17 colleges. The fifth university is the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, established in 1384 AH. It has more than 36,000 male and female students, studying at eleven colleges, which have more than 87 specialized fields. The sixth university is the King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals, which started as a Faculty for Petroleum and Minerals in 1383AH and turned into a university in 1395AH. The University has six scientific colleges and more than 9,000 students. The seventh university is the King Faisal University, which started in 1395AH. It has seven colleges and more than 15,000 male and female students. The eighth university is the King Khaled University, which started in Abha, in the Asir region in 1419/1420AH. It comprises four colleges and nearly 13,000 male and female students, studying medicine, education and science. As for the fields of scientific research and foreign participation, more than 700 professors participated in a number of scientific conferences and meetings at a number of academic centers all over the world in the academic year 1418/1419AH. Moreover, a Royal approval was issued on the decision of the Council of Higher Education to establish four colleges in various regions, as well as a college of technology in Najran. Recently, an organizational regulation was issued to set up non-profitable private colleges in various regions of the Kingdom to be an extension of the role of universities. Also according to statistics in 1420 AH, there were more than 2 million female students and 200,000 female teachers and administrators at more than 13,000 educational institutions. The statistics showed that there were 6,206 primary schools, with more than 1 million students and 177,000 teachers. There were 1,716 intermediate schools, with 491,000 students and 43,565 teachers. The number of secondary schools reached 1,571 with 365,560 students and 30,516 teachers. According to the statistics, the number of colleges for Girls' Education amounted to 73 with 162,246 students and 4,868 teachers. Meanwhile, the number of secondary teacher training institutes reached 75 with 3,650 students. With regard to the Holy Quran Memorization Schools, their number reached 523 with 58,366 students and 5,860 teachers. Girls' Education is provided with transportation service for students through its fleet of governmental and rented buses. Five hundred thousand students benefit from this service. Special care is accorded to the health of female students, through its health units in various parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These health units are provided with all required medical equipment. Top priority to adult education and eradication of illiteracy is also a main target to be reached by the Kingdom policy in this field. In this respect, the number of schools of illiteracy eradication reached 2,204 with 74,780 students. The Education sector has been undertaking supervision of 1,553 schools at the Ministry of Defence and Aviation, the National Guard, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Special Education sector. The number of students in the schools of this sector reached 218,000 students, while the number of teachers reached 19,917. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz interest in Education has been extended to engulf Muslim countries lately the King Fahd Forum for Saudi Universities of South East Asian graduates, organized by the Riyadh-based Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, had been launched in Kuala Lumpur. In a speech before the gathering, the Rector of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Saad Al Salim, stressed that the Forum aims is to extend bridges of amicability and cooperation among Muslims, strengthen Islamic relations, and get acquainted with their needs, notably of those who have studied at universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The gathering included more than 3,000 sons of Muslims all over the world have graduated from Saudi universities. The Saudi universities, upon instructions from the Saudi prudent leadership, have offered precious opportunities for the sons of Muslims all over the world to undertake their university and post-graduate studies in them. "These universities were keen to offer more and more scholarships to Muslims from all Islamic countries, as well as Islamic communities, a practice yielding a large number of Muslim graduates, exceeding 30,000 from different countries," the Minister of Education said at the opening of the King Fahd Forum. He added that the Saudi universities were organizing religious, Arabic language and educational courses in different parts of the world for the sons of Muslims there. The Minister said the Forum, the first of its kind, was aiming to strengthen ties between Saudi universities and their graduates in different fields and to look for new potentials of cooperation and enhance scientific ties with its graduates, including solving the problems that might face them during their residence abroad. Also he Special Education Department of the Ministry of Education operates schools for the blind, deaf and the physically and mentally handicapped. Currently, more than 1,000 teachers and support staff provide training for nearly 5,000 students at more than 30 such schools. Several institutes for handicapped children have been established and more are under construction. Other institutes care for older handicapped people. The special schools are part of the Kingdom's effort to encourage every individual to reach his or her full potential. Another important sector of Saudi Arabia's educational program is adult education. With its commitment to making education available to all and eradicating illiteracy, the Kingdom established a large number of adult education centers. In isolated rural areas, the government conducts intensive three-month adult education courses during the summer. The Kingdom's literacy rate is 90.9 percent for men, and 70.2 percent for women. The Ministry of Education now runs about 1,500 adult education centers for male students at various levels, and over 2,000 for girls. King Fahd's attention to the needs of the Holy Places has been unfaltering, and most obviously manifested in a multi-billion dollar program of modernization to make the places of pilgrimage more accessible to ever greater numbers. The religious center of the Holy City of Makkah is the Haram Mosque and the well of Zamzam. The present Haram, meaning "sanctuary", dates from 1570 (978 AH), and takes the form of a central quadrangle surrounded by stone walls. Around the inner sanctuary is a marble pavement, the El Mataf. The holiest shrine of Islam, the Ka'aba is situated at the heart of the Holy Mosque's central courtyard. The Haram Mosque has a long and glorious tradition of expansion, dating back to 638 (7 AH) when the ever increasing number of Muslims led the second caliph, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, to develop the site. When the late King Abdul Aziz established the modern Saudi state, one of his primary concerns, like that of the early caliphs, was his role in overseeing the well-being of the pilgrims undertaking the annual Hajj. Aware that the Holy Mosque could not support the growing numbers of worshippers, he initiated a refurbishment and expansion program. The Grand Mosque in the Holy city of Makkah: The expansion and renovation of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah will be recorded in the Islamic history as the pioneering accomplishment of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. With the implementation of these gigantic projects, the Grand Mosque in Makkah can accommodate more than one million worshippers and the Prophet's Mosque more than 1.2 million worshippers. In 1988 (1408/09 AH) King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz laid the foundation stone for the third Saudi expansion of the Mosque in the Holy City of Makkah, and so began the latest, and most spectacular, phase in its recent development. In his role as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The development of the Holy Mosque site in Makkah has incorporated an expansion of the western wing of the existing Mosque, and a subsequent enlargement of the building to hold more than a million worshippers during the Holy Month of Ramadan and during Umrah and Hajj. The expansion project includes over 60,000 square meters of prayer area on the enlarged roof, in addition to another almost 86,000 square meters in the surrounding plaza. Two towering minarets have been added to complement the seven existing whitened stone structures, the latest additions carefully matching the former in architectural style. An elaborate new entrance and 18 other gates have also been built. Other exquisite decorative work commissioned by King Fahd adorns a series of three domes running parallel to the main gate structure and close to 500 marbled columns on the ground and first floors. The expansion has included the basement, the ground floor and the first floor. It is designed and built on the basis of 'comprehensive' air conditioning concept. Pillars and their grounds are covered with white marble and the walls with black marble. Each floor has 530 pillars. This expansion included 14 doors raising the number of the Mosque's total doors to 112. This expansion has also included two buildings for electrical escalators, one in the north and the second in the south, in addition to internal escalators. There are a total of nine escalators, in addition to other stairs in various parts of the Mosque. In 1411 AH, spacious yards surrounding the Holy Mosque in Makkah were set up and a total area of 88,000 square meters was added. In 1415 AH, the area of Al-Safa in the first floor was expanded for the service of pilgrims and Umrah (the minor pilgrimage) performers. In 1417 AH, the area of Al-Marwah increased from 245 to 375 square meters. In 1417 AH, the internal passage from Al-Marawa to Massa' was expanded and new exit and entry doors were opened. In 1418 AH, a bridge linking the roof of the Mosque to the area of Al-Raqoubah was built to facilitate entry and exit from the roof. The bridge was 72.5 meters long and 11.5 wide. It was built according to the most modern designs to conform to with the outer shape of the Mosque. With the implementation of the expansion project, the Mosque can accommodate 460,000 worshippers in normal times. The Mosque along with its roof and surrounding areas can accommodate 820,000 worshippers. The entire facility of the Mosque can accommodate more than one million worshippers during peak seasons. Other improvements resulting from King Fahd's initiative have included a newly laid drainage system. The Prophet's Mosque in the Holy City of Al Madinah Al Munawarah: The expansion of the Prophet's Holy Mosque was ordered by King Fahd and started in Safar, 1405 AH. The expansion included the basement, ground and first floors along with a complete air-conditioning system. The roof included 27 ventilation outlets and mobile electrical domes, which open and close when necessary. The expansion also included 41 doors. Each one is 6 meters high and 3 meters wide. Six new 104 meters high minarets were also built. Six escalators were installed in various parts of the mosque, in addition to 18 marble coated stairs. Outer yards were set up for use during peak times like the Holy month of Ramadan and Hajj season. The parking areas of the Mosque can accommodate 4,200 cars. This number can be increased to 4,500 cars during peak seasons. There are also buildings for services such as ablutions, water closets, cold drinking water and other utilities for security, clinics and other services. After the implementation of the expansion project, the area of the Mosque alone reached 82,000 square meters, while its total area including surrounding yards reached 985,000 square meters. The Prophet's Mosque now has a capacity of 257,000 worshippers. Surrounding spaces have an area of 135,000 square meters that can accommodate 250,000 worshippers. In case of using the whole area, some 450,000 worshippers can be accommodated, raising the total capacity of the Mosque and the surrounding yards to more than 700,000 worshippers in ordinary days and nearly 1,200,000 worshippers at peak times. The Kingdom's efforts to build mosques were not limited to the Two Holy Mosques and mosques inside the Kingdom, but covered mosques in all Muslim and world countries. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has built, on its own expenses a great number of mosques and Islamic centers all over the world and contributed in financing many other mosques. As the mosque has a special importance to the Muslim minorities in non Muslim countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid great attention to build mosques in countries where Muslim minorities live. In addition, the Kingdom built Islamic centers that include classes, halls and libraries. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has built 210 Islamic centers in Europe, the Americas, Australia, Africa and Asia. One of the most prominent center is "the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Islamic Cultural center" in Malaga which was built over a 3848 m2 and represents a cultural link between the people of Spain and Saudi Arabia, and includes academics, educational, scientific and cultural activities. The Kingdom under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has founded many other Islamic centers amongst which the Islamic center in Toronto, Canada, the Islamic center in Rome Italy, the Islamic center in Brazilia, and the Islamic center in Rio de Janeiro which Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz inaugurated in 1421H. In 1418H the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Islamic Cultural center was opened in Gibraltar as well as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Islamic Cultural center in Mont La Jolie in France and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Islamic Cultural center in Edinburgh which was opened in 1419H. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has also established and participated in the establishment of other Islamic centers such as the Islamic center in the Geneva, Brussels, Madrid, New York, Australia, Zaghreb in Croatia, the Islamic center in London, Lisbon, and Vienna. In Africa the most important Islamic center in King Faisal Islamic center in Ndgamena, Chad. The Kingdom has also established participated in the establishment of the Islamic centers in Nigeria, and Khartoum. In Asia the Kingdom has fully established the King Fahd Islamic center in the Maldives, the Islamic center in Tokyo and the Indonesian-Saudi Islamic center for Islamic studies. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has also founded a number of mosques in order to provide Muslims all over the world with places of worship, amongst these mosques is the Mosque of Gibraltar, Mont La Jolie, the Mosque of Los Angeles which the Custodian of the Two Holy financed, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Edinburgh. Amongst these mosques are the mosques of Washington, Chicago, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia in the USA. In Africa mosques were built in the Gabon, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Senegal. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, also supported the Mosque of Lyon in France with SR 11 Billion, the King Faisal Mosque in Chad with SR 60 million, the King Faisal University in Guinea with SR 58 million, the Grand Mosque in Senegal with SR 12 million, the Farou'e Mosque in Cameroon with SR 15,6, the Zanzibar Mosque in Tanzania with SR 10 million, the Bamako Mosque in Mali with SR 23 million, the Mosque of Yaoundi in Cameroon with $ 5 million. The Kingdom also participated in the renovation of Al Azhar Mosque in Egypt with SR 14 million, Bilal Mosque in Los Angeles, the renovation of Al Sakhra dome, the Omar Ibn Al Khattab Mosque in Al Quds and Brent Central Mosque in London. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has paid great attention to the efforts exerted to spread Islam and teach the peoples its laws and rituals. They also realized the importance and the effect of books in this field. Thus, during the first decades of the foundation of the Kingdom, they gave a great deal of care to books. King Abdul Aziz God Bless his soul ordered the printing of various useful books, then, he was followed by his sons who encouraged specialized people to write books which were printed on the expense of the state. Some of the books were distributed for free. The distribution was not limited to the citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but covered the pilgrims and Muslims throughout the world. The leaders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid great attention to education. As a result of this attention eight universities were established in the Kingdom in addition to thousands of schools, institutions and colleges for boys and girls. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz played a distinguished role in the Kingdom's educational achievement since he was the first Minister of Education, and supervised the educational plans. The Kingdom's keenness went beyond the Saudi citizens to include also the Muslims throughout the world through offering scholarships. Sharia education was at the center of the attention of the Saudi leaders due to the importance of teaching young Muslims the Sharia laws. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also established a number of universities, institutes and schools abroad and contributed in supporting other educational projects and located constant funds to finance some universities, institutes and schools and encourage them to continue their message and adhere to their responsibilities. As many as 16 Saudi Academies abroad are catering for the educational needs of Saudi, Arab and Muslim students around the world. In addition to that, the Kingdom has a number of scientific chairs in some of the world universities such as: 1. King Abdul Aziz Chair at the University of California. 2. King Fahd Chair for Sharia Studies at Harvard University. 3. King Fahd Chair for Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University. 4. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz Department for Islamic Studies and Arab Language at Moscow University. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also established a number of institutes and academies for Islamic studies abroad. They are located in the United States of America, Britain, Germany, Russia, Ras Al Khema, Djibouti, Mauritania, Indonesia and Japan. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's efforts in the field of Call. The Saudi State, throughout its three stages, has spared no efforts in the field of Islamic Call. The Basic Law of the state stresses the importance of Call. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia played a large role in the establishment of the Organization of Islamic Conference, The Islamic World League, the Islamic Development Bank, the World Forum for Islamic Youth, The Organization of Islamic Relief, the World Higher Council for Mosques and the Islamic Fiqh Complex. All these organizations receive financial and moral support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leaders. The Kingdom had also offered them suitable buildings to help them conduct their tasks in assisting Muslims and helping them to solve their problems and settle their causes. Since its foundation, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has implemented the Islamic Sharia. Since its foundation the Kingdom's basic law is the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him (teachings). The fruits of following this straight path, are clear in the security, welfare and stability which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is enjoying. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, has positively shouldered its responsibility, and played a pioneering role in order to raise the banner of Islam all over the globe and raise the Islamic call either inside or outside the Kingdom. Some of the Kingdom's most important achievements in the field of serving Islam and Muslims are: First: In realization of its pioneering role in the service of Islam and Muslims, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established the Madinah-based Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Complex for the printing of the Holy Quran. The foundation stone of the Complex was laid by the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz in Muharram, 1403 h. King Fahd inaugurated the Complex in Safar, 1405 H. The Complex is spread over an area of 250,000 square meters. It includes a mosque, administrative offices, the printing press, stores, a clinic, a library and restaurants as well as other utilities. The Complex is able to print ten million copies of the Holy Quran per year. The capacity of the Complex could be raised to 30 million copies per year. In addition to printing copies of the Holy Quran, the publications of the Complex include the translation of the meanings of the Holy Quran and books of Sunnah (the Prophet's teaching) and the biography of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be On Him). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leaders also care for teaching and memorizing the Holy Quran. They established private schools for this purpose and charity organizations for memorizing Quran. These organizations' branches and schools are spread all over the Kingdom's regions and are financially and morally supported by the Kingdom's leaders through annual and personal donations. This care was also clear through holding two contests: The annual contest in Riyadh and the world contest in Makkah, for which valuable awards were allocated. The latest of these awards was the Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz Award For Memorizing Quran in the Kingdom's regions. The leaders' efforts also covered the Kingdom's prisons where circles for memorizing the Quran were established and prisoners are encouraged to study and memorize the Quran as part of their rehabilitation programs and as a reward for those who achieve this aim part of the imprisonment period is lifted. Second: In Islam, mosques occupy a special and high status as they are considered the most loved houses to God, where His Name is mentioned, and prayers are performed. Since the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom and its leaders took care of building and developing mosques. This care reached its peak during the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, who paid great attention to the development and expansion of the Two Holy Mosques. Realizing the significant role of the Two Holy Mosques, SR70 billion were spent on the expansion projects at the Two Holy Mosques, to provide the increasing numbers of pilgrims with the required services and facilities. Of all the projects undertaken by Saudi Arabia during the reign of King Fahd, the expansion of the Holy Mosques in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah stand out as one of the most prominent achievements. As the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has spared no efforts or expenses in developing the Two Holy Mosques to accommodate in safety the vast numbers of pilgrims who visit the Kingdom each year, great care was taken to ensure that the expansion is entirely consistent with the architectural design of the existing structures. The Kingdom's efforts to build mosques were not limited to the Two Holy Mosques and mosques inside the Kingdom, but covered mosques in all Muslim and world countries. The Kingdom has built, on its own expenses a great number of mosques and Islamic centers all over the world and contributed in financing many other mosques. As the mosque has a special importance to the Muslim minorities in non Muslim countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid great attention to build mosques in countries where Muslim minorities live. In addition, the Kingdom built Islamic centers that include classes, halls and libraries. Third: Printing and distributing useful books. The leaders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid great attention to the efforts exerted to spread Islam and teach the peoples its laws and rituals. They also realized the importance and the effect of books in this field. Thus, during the first decades of the foundation of the Kingdom, they gave a great deal of care to books. King Abdul Aziz God Bless his soul ordered the printing of various useful books, then, he was followed by his sons who encouraged specialized people to write books which were printed on the expense of the state. Some of the books were distributed for free. The distribution was not limited to the citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but covered the pilgrims and Muslims throughout the world. Fourth: Taking care of Muslims' cases and affairs. In line with the policy formulated by King Abdul Aziz, the leaders of the Kingdom gave, on both the official and personal levels, their utmost attention to the Muslims causes. They assisted them to win their rights, and stood by them at international forums. The great example of that is the cause of Palestine, notably the cause of Al Quds. Thanks also to the Kingdom's rational and wise policy, this policy has yielded positive results with the financial and moral support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fifth: Relief of Muslim victims of disasters. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid great attention to the relief of Muslims who are stricken by disasters and offers them assistance. Whenever the Kingdom's leaders hear about a disaster in a Muslim country they rush to help and send great quantities of the needed aids. Sixth: Embracing a number of international Islamic organizations. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia played a large role in the establishment of the Organization of Islamic Conference, The Islamic World League, the Islamic Development Bank, the World Forum for Islamic Youth, The Organization of Islamic Relief, the World Higher Council for Mosques and the Islamic Fiqh Complex. All these organizations receive financial and moral support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leaders. The Kingdom had also offered them suitable buildings to help them conduct their tasks in assisting Muslims and helping them to solve their problems and settle their causes. Since its foundation, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has implemented the Islamic Sharia. Since its foundation the Kingdom's basic law is the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him (teachings). The fruits of following this straight path, are clear in the security, welfare and stability which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is enjoying. http://www.ain-al-yaqeen.com/issues/20040924/feat2en.htm | |||||
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