July 1985

East London Mosque

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Located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London Mosque is a part of the London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, making it one of the largest mosques in Europe.

The East London Mosque Trust has rich a history spanning more than a century. It is London’s oldest Mosque, serving communities in the heart of the East End and beyond.

In 1910 some notable Muslim figures established the London Mosque Fund to create a mosque in London. By 1926 the Fund had grown to a sizeable amount and a Deed of Declaration of Trust was made. For the first three decades, rooms were hired for Friday prayers and special occasions.

In 1940 three houses were purchased in Commercial Road, London E1, and converted into a Mosque. It opened on Friday 1 August 1941; Lt. Col. Sir Hussain Suhrawardy, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the London Mosque Fund, welcomed worshippers to the newly established East London Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre. The first prayer was led by the Ambassador for Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Shaikh Hafiz Wahab.

Over the years many distinguished personalities were associated with the London Mosque Fund. Among them, the Rt. Hon. Syed Ameer Ali, the first Indian Privy Counsellor, who was Chairman of London Mosque Fund Executive Committee until his death in 1928. His Royal Highness the Aga Khan served as life President of the Board of Trustees. Both Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, famous translators of the Qur’an, were trustees of the Fund. There were also a many non-Muslims who supported the need for a Muslim place of worship in London: Lord Lamington became a Vice-Chairman of the London Mosque Fund; historian Professor T. W. Arnold became its Honorary Secretary, and was later replaced by Sir Ernest Houston; Sir John Woodhead became its Treasurer; and the Rt. Hon. Earl Winterton was also a trustee of the Fund.

In 1975 the Greater London Council acquired the premises in Commercial Road under a compulsory purchase order. Temporary buildings were provided until the present mosque could be built in Whitechapel Road. In 1982 work on the new East London Mosque began, and was completed in 1985, opening to the public on Friday 12 July 1985.

This large, purpose-built mosque, complete with dome and minarets, soon became a landmark in London’s East End.

At it seemed generously spacious, but before long it began to overflow on Fridays and during Ramadan and Eid. Moreover, there was hardly room for the growing number of projects based at the mosque. In 1999 the East London Mosque ran a long and ultimately successful campaign to acquire adjoining land. HRH Prince Charles and HRH Prince Mohamed al-Faisal launched the project to build the London Muslim Centre next to the Mosque in 2001. Building work commenced a year later, and the new London Muslim Centre opened in June 2004.

The congregation continued to grow, and space for projects quickly filled up. In 2009, the next phase of development commenced, with the building of the Maryam Centre. It opened to the public in 2013, with extensive new facilities for women, more prayer space, a visitor centre, and improved funeral facilities.

Sources and Attribution

“The East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre.” 2021. East London Mosque. March 23, 2021. https://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/.

“East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre Archive.” 2013. Jisc.ac.uk. 2013.

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CC Attribution 4.0 International

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