Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was founded in 1953. In 1951, the university was established by merging the Islamic Law College and the Arabic Language College in Riyadh. In 1974, it was granted university status by royal decree. The university houses 12 faculties. It currently has more than 24,000 students and 1,300 faculty. It has intermediate and secondary Islamic institutes in major cities of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Djibouti and Japan. The university as a cultural and intellectual institution aims to promote knowledge offering undergraduate as well as postgraduate studies. One of the most important aims is to promote translating and publishing as the university has its own print house. Moreover, the university achieves its goals within the Islamic Shari'a.