On the 9th of November 1910, the Right Honourable Syed Ameer Ali

arranged a meeting at the Ritz Hotel under the Chairmanship of the His Highness Sir Sultan Mohammad Shah Aga Khan III. The meeting resolved to establish a fund for the purpose of building a Mosque and Islamic

Cultural Centre in London.

1910

Portraits:1. The Right Honourable Syed Ameer Ali2. Sir Sultan Mohammad Shah Aga Khan III3. Sir Theodore Morison4. Lord Nathan Mayer Rothschild5. Marmaduke Pickthall6. Begum of Bhopal

Picture right:Minutes Book of the London Mosque Fund (1910-1951)

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Prominent British educationist and writer Sir Theodore Morison chaired the first official meeting of The London Mosque Fund.

Lord Nathan Mayer Rothschild, First Baron of the famous Rothschild banking family became a trustee of the London Mosque Fund.

Shah Jahan Begum of Bhopal, India offered the London Mosque Fund a donation of one thousand pounds (the equivalent of approximately £70,000 today) on the condition that a student hostel would be annexed to the Mosque and that dietary provisions would be catered for.

Noted orientalist scholar of Islam, Professor Thomas Walker Arnold, joined the London Mosque Fund executive committee.

On the 19th March 1914, The London Mosque Fund approved £120 for the purpose of renting a property for use as a temporary mosque. Friday prayers were held at Lindsay Hall; Notting Hill Gate West, later relocated to 39 Upper Bedford Place, then to 111 Campden Hill Road, where prayers were conducted until October 1928.

After his death on 31st March 1915, Nathan Rothschild, First Baron Rothschild was replaced as a trustee of the London Mosque Fund by the Right Honourable Lord Lamington.

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall was appointed acting Imam of the ‘Notting Hill Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre’, sponsored by the London Mosque Fund.

1910 – 1920

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Newspaper clipping above:Accounts and Resolutions of the London Mosque Fund

Committee made public in the Westminster Gazette on the 20th December 1917.

1920 – 1930

On the 16th March 1921, famous translator of The Holy Quran, Abdullah Yusuf Ali was elected as a member of the London Mosque Fund executive committee. He resigned seven months later to take up his duties in India for the Nizam of Hyderabad.

On the 19th November 1926, a ‘Declaration of Trust’ for the London Mosque Fund was officiated for the “erection and maintenance in London of a fitting Mosque to be used by Moslems in London and Moslems visiting London from any part of the world for worship according to the religion of Islam and until such erection to provide for such worship in any manner which may be deemed expedient.”

The 3rd April 1928 marked

the “lamentable death” of the Rt. Hon. Justice Syed Ameer Ali. Vice-Chairman, the Rt. Hon. Lord Lamington replaced him as Chairman of The London Mosque Fund.

The Jamiat-ul-Muslimin was formed under the chairmanship of Allama I. I. Kazi (later Chairman of Sindh University). The Jamiat flourished into an organisation that provided agency for the London Mosque Fund in the East End, and in subsequent decades was responsible for the establishment of many Islamic centres around the United Kingdom.

As more and more Muslim sailors settled in East London, Friday and Eid Prayers moved to the larger venue of Kings Hall on Commercial Road.

Documents above:The London Mosque Fund Declaration of Trust, 1926.

Signatories (trustees) include: H.H. Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, Rt. Hon. Justice Syed Ameer Ali; the Rt. Hon. Charles Wallace Cochrane-Ballie Baron

Lamington; the Rt. Hon. Arthur Villiers Russell Baron Ampthill, and Sir Muhammad Rafique.

Above:The Rt. Hon. Syed Ameer Ali’s Obituary in The Times, London 20th December, 1917.

1930 – 1940

At the Annual General Meeting of the London Mosque Fund held on the 13th May at the Waldorf Hotel London, the Chairman, The Rt. Hon. Lord Lamington said,“it is with the deepest regret that we record the death of the Rt. Hon. Lord Ampthill, who died on the 7th July 1935. He was one of the Trustees of the Fund from the commencement in 1910 and gave very valuable assistance and advice.”

After the passing of Lord Ampthill, distinguished military officer and retired professional head of the Royal Air Force (Chief of the Air Staff), Major Gen. The Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes became a trustee.

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The Trustees decide to purchase a house on Commercial Road for use as a Mosque and hostel for Muslim sailors living in East London.

The Rt. Hon. Lord Lamington, Chairman of the London Mosque Fund, passed away on the 18th September 1940.

Under the new leadership of Lt. Col. Sir Hassan Suhrawardy as Chairman and Sir Ernest Hotson as the Hon. Secretary, three houses (444, 446 and 448 Commercial Road, E1) were purchased for a Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre as well as a hostel for travelling sailors.

Portraits:7. Major Gen. The Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes8. Allama I. I. Kazi

Picture left:Signage of East London Mosque 446 Commercial Road.

1940 – 1960

The official opening of the East London Mosque took place on Friday 1st August 1941. The Jumu’ah (Friday) prayer was led by His Excellency Shaykh Hafiz Wahba, Ambassador of Saudia Arabia. The following Friday the Rt. Hon. Leo Amery, Secretary of State for India, paid an informal visit to the East London Mosque where he created great enthusiasm by reciting the first chapter of the Holy Qur’an (Surah Al-Fatiha) from beginning to end flawlessly.

The Jamiat ul-Muslimin was given agency to conduct religious services at the East London Mosque and Islamic Culture Centre on behalf of the London Mosque Fund.

Notable translator of the Holy Qur’an, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, returned to London as a trustee.

On the 12th September 1941 Sir Frederick Sykes resigned from the Trust. Other members of the trust expressed “their great regret that his manifold other duties have made it impossible for him to continue to assist the Trust.”

In a meeting of the Executive Committee dated 23rd January 1942, Earl Winterton began his trusteeship of the East London Mosque; Colonel Stewart F. Newcombe was made Joint Hon. Secretary along with Sir Ernest Hotson, and Sir John Woodhead was made Hon. Treasurer.

The East London Mosque and Islamic Culture Centre library and reading room benefited from a British Council grant of £100 with which Prof. A. J. Arberry (notable translator of the Holy Qur’an and oriental scholar) was charged with obtaining a list of publications in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. Rt. Hon. Leo Amery, Secretary of State for India.

Shaykh Hafiz Wahba delivers Friday sermon.

The repair of minor damage done to the East London Mosque and Islamic Culture Centre during ‘The Blitz’ was undertaken, the majority of allocated funds being from the War Damage Commission.

Suleman Mohammed Jetha began over half a century of service to the East London Mosque.

The London Mosque Fund gained Charity Status on the 9th of March, 1951.

His Excellency the High Commissioner for Pakistan, Muhammad Ikramullah joined the London Mosque Fund Council of Management. He was voted

in as Chairman in September of the following year.

It was unanimously agreed that Haji Taslim Ali, the first Muslim undertaker in the UK be appointed to the East London Mosque Council of Management.

After serving the London Mosque Fund and The East London Mosque Trust for almost fourteen years, Sir John Woodhead, [namesake of ‘The Woodhead Commission’ (1938), which recommended a partition plan for Palestine that recognised the needs of the Palestinian Arabs], retired from his duties.

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Portraits:9. Suleman Mohammed Jetha10. Muhammad Ikramulla11. Haji Taslim Ali12. Sir John Woodhead

Picture right:London Mosque Fund Charity Deed (9 March 1951).

1960 – 1990

In 1975 the Greater London Council (GLC) under a compulsory purchase order acquired the three Mosque buildings on Commercial Road and in return provided land and temporary buildings (45 Fieldgate Street E1) until a permanent Mosque could be built on Whitechapel Road.

Construction commenced of a new purpose-built Mosque on Whitechapel Road to accommodate two thousand people. The new Mosque was designed by John Gill Associates and constructed by W. J. Mitchell & Sons.

The newly built East London Mosque was officially opened on Friday 12th July 1985 by Shaykh Abdullah bin Subayl, Imam of Masjidul Haram (Islam’s holiest site), Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Pictures below:Friday prayer at East London Mosque, late 1970’s.

Concept drawing of East London Mosque and actual building.Foundation stone of the East London Mosque, 1982.

1990 – 2000

The need for a larger Mosque and community centre became increasingly urgent as the Muslim population of East London continued to grow. The entire community, including many non-Muslim organisations, united in a campaign to acquire the land adjacent to the Mosque which was being used as a car park. On the 8th March 1998, a large, peaceful procession moved through East London to achieve this end.

Once the land was made available, the local community showed its generosity and enthusiasm by rallying to raise £600,000 in order to purchase it. On

the 27th November 1999 there was great jubilation as a cheque for this amount was handed to the Mayor of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

After a long campaign to secure the land, a comprehensive extension programme named the ‘London Muslim Centre’ began, which was to bring additional prayer space and a wide range of much needed community services, such as a health and fitness centre, education facilities and training projects.

Pictures: Top: Car park adjacent to East London MosqueLeft: Children take part in a fundraising walk in support of LMC. Right: Cheque for £600k handed to Mayor of Tower Hamlets Council.

2000 – 2010

On the 23rd of November 2001, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed al-Faisal laid the foundation stone of the London Muslim Centre as part of a ceremony to launch the construction project.

On the 11th of June 2004 the London Muslim Centre was opened. Over 15,000 people filled the streets around the Mosque to participate in Friday prayers with Shaykh AbdurRahman Sudais, Imam of Makkah.

The success of this opening inspired a return visit by HRH Prince Charles in November, 2004 footage of which was included in Her Majesty the Queen’s Christmas broadcast of the same year.

The London Muslim Centre is home to a secondary school in the form of the London East Academy, in addition to employment and training projects to facilitate community development.

The East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre continue their commitment to the provision of broad, holistic, culturally sensitive services for the communities of London. These institutions aim to improve the quality of life for Muslims and all people in Britain and to ultimately enhance community cohesion and prosperity.

Construction of the Maryam Centre will enable the East London Mosque to accommodate the growing number of Muslim women in need of religious and community facilities. This development will mark the first of its kind in the United Kingdom.

Concept drawing of East London Mosque, Maryam Centre.

Photography Acknowledgements:National Portrait Gallery, The Rothschild Archive, British Library Gallery, Tower Hamlets Archives, East London Mosque Library and Archive.

The East London Mosque Trust Ltd is a charity (1122613) and a company limited by guarantee (468317) registered in England & Wales

Registered Office: 82-92 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1JQ