VZCZCXRO5853
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #2998 2711238
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281238Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0296
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1711
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KABUL 002998 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC PGOV EAID PREL SCUL AF
SUBJECT: KABUL UNIVERSITY REQUESTS EXCHANGE WITH AL-AZHAR 
UNIVERSITY 
 
¶1. (U)  This cable includes an action request, para 5. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  The chancellor of Kabul University and the dean of 
the University's Shari'a Faculty both made clear their desire 
to revive and intensify relations with Egyptian universities, 
particularly Al-Azhar, during separate meetings with the 
Deputy Ambassador on September 17.  Chancellor Hamidullah 
Amin requested assistance in promoting an exchange between 
Kabul University and Al-Azhar University, in which students 
from Afghanistan would study in Egypt, and professors from 
Al-Azhar would teach at Kabul University.  He emphasized his 
University's preference that students be sent specifically to 
Egypt, and not to Saudi Arabia or Iran. 
 
¶3. (U)  Approximately forty professors in the Shari'a 
Faculty, including Professor Din Mohammad Gran, dean of the 
faculty, expressed their overwhelming support for an exchange 
program between Al-Azhar and Kabul Universities.  Many 
boasted of their own studies in Egypt, as they spoke, often 
in Egyptian Arabic, on the application of Shari'a law in 
Afghanistan.  They drew numerous comparisons between the 
implementation of Shari'a and civil law in Egypt and 
Afghanistan. 
 
¶4. (U)  We currently have programs in USAID, PAS, and INL 
that could extend support for an expanded relationship 
between Al-Azhar and Kabul universities.  A strong judicial 
system with well-educated judges and lawyers is key to 
creating a peaceful Afghanistan.  Enabling more Afghan 
university students to study with Al-Azhar scholars, 
preferably in Kabul for greater impact, will help strengthen 
the foundation upon which the Afghan legal system stands. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Action: We request Embassy Cairo to sound out the 
president of Al-Azhar University on further cooperation with 
Kabul University.  If Azhar scholars are willing to teach at 
Kabul University's Sharia Faculty, we may be able to support 
such faculty exchanges in substantial but appropriately 
discreet ways.  (Note that such an exchange would be entirely 
distinct from other Egyptian-Afghan programs at the secondary 
level, which were discussed during SRAP Holbrooke's visit to 
Cairo in July.)  We gather that, if the president or other 
academic leaders of Al-Azhar should wish to see for 
themselves security and other conditions at Kabul University 
before making any commitments, Kabul University Chancellor 
Hamidullah Amin would be nd an invitation to 
visit his attractive and lively campus. 
 
 
EIKENBERRY