Skip to main content

UK’s First Purpose-Built Mosque Marks 130th Anniversary

Shah Jahan mosque in the UK has been a familiar part of Surrey’s skyline since 1889, and it’s celebrating 130 years on its inauguration this November 2019.

“We are Sunni, we believe there is no god but Allah, the last and final prophet is Muhammad. Sunni and Hanafi [the most popular school of thought for Sunni Islam],” the mosque head Imam, Hafiz M Saeed Hashmi told Surrey Live.

“We are moderate, we do interfaith and intrafaith. Interfaith is when you interact with other faiths, intrafaith is when you interact within your faith with other faiths.”

Imam Hashmi stands outside the main building (Image: Surrey Advertiser – Grahame Larter)

Participation in interfaith activities, including involvement with Woking People of Faith or non-faith events such as Remembrance Day services, help Shah Jahan’s worshippers break down barriers between religions which largely teach the same attitudes to life.

Imam Hashmi says: “[Islam] says if you have spare food and your neighbor is hungry, then you are not a Muslim. Take care of your neighbor, regardless of faith, culture or background.”

A postcard shows an image of Shah Jahan Mosque in the first half of the 20th century (Image: Surrey Advertiser – Grahame Larter)

First Purpose-Build Mosque

The Shah Jahan mosque is not the first worshipping place for Muslims in the UK, with Qulliams mosque in Liverpool pre-dating it by several months. Yet, with its dome and minarets, it is the first purpose-built mosque.

The beautiful mosque was designed by architect William Isaac Chambers who incorporated elements of Middle Eastern architecture, a dome, minarets, and a courtyard.

The mosque was named after Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal, who partly funded the mosque. Shah Jahan was one of four successive women rulers or “Begums” of the former Indian state of Bhopal between 1819 and 1926.

The interior of the main building used as a prayer hall. Shoes must be removed before entering (Image: Surrey Advertiser – Grahame Larter)

Shah Jahan mosque was used as a place of worship by Muslim members of Queen Victoria’s household including Abdul Karim, the subject of the 2017 film Victoria & Abdul.

In March 2018, the British Minister of Heritage upgraded the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking from Grade II* to become the only Grade I listed mosque in the UK.

The Asian Orientalist style mosque is now on the same standing such as Brighton Pavilion and Buckingham Palace.

The post UK’s First Purpose-Built Mosque Marks 130th Anniversary appeared first on About Islam.



source https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/europe/uks-first-purpose-built-mosque-marks-130-anniversary/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Times and Places Where Dua is Accepted

A short reminder regarding the recommended times of dua . And I think what you need to know here is that the recommended times of dua or recommended things that can cause your dua to be accepted, can be divided into two sort of large groups: Am I Good Enough to Make Dua for Myself? Situations where your dua is accepted. Times where your dua is accepted So I’m going to very briefly mention them one after the other as much as possible. As for situations where your dua has been accepted: – The person who has been wronged or oppressed . – A person who finds themselves in severe difficulty after a calamity has struck. – The person who is traveling. – Someone who is fasting. – The one who is reciting the Quran or has just recited the Quran – Someone who is performing Hajj or Umrah or jihad. – The one who is making dua for someone in their absence . Because we know that when you make dua for someone in his absence an angel says: “ Ameen and to you”. – A person...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Derechos de Las Mujeres en Islam

Durante el Tiempo del Profeta (la paz sea con él) Veamos cómo fueron tratadas las mujeres de todo el mundo durante la época del Profeta (la paz sea con él). En la Europa del siglo VIII, la religión principal era el catolicismo y durante este tiempo debatían si las mujeres tenían alma. Dijeron que las mujeres eran impuras y que no tenían derecho a la herencia. A las mujeres tampoco se les permitía tocar la Biblia. No era como ahora en el Islam, donde ellas no pueden tocar el Corán durante la menstruación, pero a las mujeres en la Europa del siglo VIII nunca se les permitió tocar la Biblia. En China e India, fueron quemadas vivas cuando murieron sus maridos. En Arabia Saudita practicaron infanticidio femenino en el que, si nacía una niña, la enterrarían viva. Si el marido de una mujer muere, un miembro de su familia se unirá a ella para demostrar que ahora es de su propiedad. Mujeres en el Islam Con el Islam llegó una nueva era para las mujeres. En el Islam, las mujeres tienen la...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Ghuraba (The Strangers): Nasheed with English Subtitles

Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings the strangers. (Sahih Muslim 145) This famous nasheed has many versions; this one is from Muhammad al-Salman and has the subtitles in English embedded. [We are] strangers and we do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah  […] Transliteration to help in the pronounciation:  Ghurabaa’ wa li ghairillaahi laa nahnil jibaa Aisha Stacey  wrote in an article for Aboutislam.net : “I think that many of you would agree that being Muslim in the 21st century makes you well acquainted with being strange. It might even be a metaphor for random, as in you have been randomly selected. […] many converts to Islam will tell you about feeling as if they were strangers, before finding Islam. They will speak of feeling that they belonged somewhere else that their lives were just slightly off center. They often speak about a vague sense of knowing they were not like everyone else...
Post a Comment
Read More »