The database will include the geographical location of mosques, the number of employees working in places of worship and the progress of maintenance work being carried out by contracted companies.

The decision to compile the database was taken during the 75th regular session of the Shoura Council held under the chairmanship of Abdullah Al-Asheikh.

The Committee on Islamic Affairs presented their observations on the annual report by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for the year 2010. Shoura Council Secretary-General Muhammad Al-Ghamdi said council members showed great interest in the functions of the Islamic Affairs Ministry which supervises thousands of mosques in the Kingdom.

“The members also requested the ministry to tag all new and renovated mosques in the Kingdom with the Saudi building code,” said Al-Ghamdi while adding that the house also felt that it is the responsibility of the ministry to take remedial measures to clear any misconceptions about Islam and its practices.

The council also asked the ministry to activate the Endowment Fund, which was established by the Council of Ministers in 2004 and calls for any donations made by philanthropists toward the fund to be used for the maintenance and operations of mosques.

Later, during the reading of the annual report of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) for the year 2010/2011, the members appreciated the TVTC's achievements toward building the Kingdom's human capital.

Al-Ghamdi said the members suggested that the various programs of the TVTC should be job oriented and cater to the rising needs of the public and private sectors.

Sunday morning, Al-Asheikh received Goh Chok Tong, a senior minister from Singapore. The two discussed the strong bilateral ties between the Kingdom and Singapore and explored ways of improving parliamentary relations between the two countries.