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From visiting the Woking mosque in Surrey, i decided to create a photobook of my trip there.
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The Shah Jahan MosquePHOTOBOOK
By Kawsar Ahmed
The Shah Jahan mosque or the Woking mosque as it was
known back then is Britain’s first purpose-built mosque. The
mosque was built in 1889 by orientalist Gottlieb Wilhelm
Leitner. The mosque was designed to help acclimatise visiting
dignitaries from foreign Islam communities, and to offer them
a place to worship.
In this book you will find photographs and information about
the history behind the beautiful mosque and delve deeper
into the key individuals which have had a lasting impact on
its history, including the linguist Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner
who was the founder, the project’s financier, the lady Sultan
Shah-Jehan Behum of Bhopal and the man who revived the
mosque after Leitner’s death Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din.
The photograph shows a striking view of the entrance to
the Shah Jahan mosque in Woking, Surrey. There is a small
fountain, glistening in the spring sunshine, which leads up
to the main entrance. It has a large onion dome on delicate
rubble walls, with a decorative three-part frontispiece in blue
and gold.
The Shah Jahan Mosque
The mosque was founded by orientalist Gottlieb Wilhelm
Leitner (1840-1899), a Hungarian/ Jewish-born linguist and
educationalist. His father died when he was young and his
mother moved to Istanbul where she re-married a Jew who
had converted to Christianity.
Leitner studied at madrassah schools attached to the mosque
in Istanbul, where he then memorised large portions of the
Quran. When he was fifteen he could speak eight languages.
Dr Leitner came to England aged seventeen and studied at
the Kings College in London, by which time it is said he
could speak fifteen languages. When he was twenty-one
Leitner was the professor at the same college, teaching
Arabic and Muhammadan Law. At the age of twenty-four he
took up the post of principle of the Government College
Lahore, later the University of the Punjab. He spent most of
his working life there, published journals and established
libraries and educational institutes. He was said to have
known fifty languages by the time he died.
He returned to Britain with the purpose of establishing
an Oriental Institute here. His search for suitable premise
brought him to Woking. He purchased what had been the
Royal Dramatic College, the building was ideal for Leitner’s
purposes. He used it to house his new Institute of Oriental
Learning and Literature. He then had the Shah Jahan Mosque
built next door in 1889. It was mainly paid for by sultan
Shah-Jehan Begum who was the ruler of the Bhopal state in
India.
Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner
Sultan Shah-Jehan Begum (1838-1901) was the ruler of the
princely state of Bhopal in central India for two periods
1844-60. She was recognised as ruler of Bhopal in 1844 at the
age of six since she was the only surviving child of Sikandar
Begum. Her mother wielded power as regent during her mi-
nority, till her mother died in 1868. Having been groomed for
leadership of the state, Shah-Jehan improved the tax system
and increased state intake and much more. During her reign
she was regarded as an effective and popular ruler.
She was instrumental in initiating the construction of one
of the largest mosques in India, the Taj-ul-Masajid (which
means the crown of mosque) at Bhopal. Shah-Jehan Begum
made sizeable donations towards the building of a mosque at
Woking, Surrey.
Sultan Shah Jehan Begum
Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (1870-1932) was a lawyer
by profession. He was a member of the ‘Lahore
Ahmadiyya Movement’ and was an author of
numerous publications about Islam. Khwaja
Kamal-ud-Din was born in Punjab, India. He
studied in Lahore famous Forman Christian
College. In 1912 he proceeded to England. He took
control of the mosque once it fell into disuse after
Leitner’s death in 1899.
Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din officially named the
mosque the Shah Jahan mosque to honour its
main donor, and laid the foundation of the
‘Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust’
as well as The Islamic Review. It soon became a
centre for British Islam, and has flourished ever
since. In 1912 until his death, he devoted his life
to the propagation of Islam, he toured many
countries such as Africa and Asia delivering
Islamic lectures. He performed his second Hajj in
the company of Lord Headley the famous British
Muslim convert and Khwaja’s close friend and
associate.
Khwaja Kamal ud Din
The building is square with a three bay front articulated by four panelled piers
with open turrets above linked by battlement type decoration. Built of dressed
rubble stone, with stucco facing and a copper dome with finials. The mosques
indo-saracen design was inspired by drawings taken from Prisse d’Avennes
book L’ Art Arabe. It was built by architect W.I. Chambers in bath and bargate
stone it onion dome was once blue and gold and the entrance lay with fine
mosaic. The fountain was initially built to be used for ablution but was later
redesigned as an ornamental piece.
Architecture
Here is a drawing of the Woking mosque by the architect W. I. Chambers. It
was drawn in 1889 shortly before published in ‘The Building News and the
mosque Engineering Journal’, dated 2nd August completed.
The Shah Jahan mosque in Woking is the oldest purpose-built
mosque in Britain Dr. Leitner was quoted saying “the beautiful
mosque which is such a conspicuous object nears the railway.”
So much so that the mosque royal visitors and many famous
British Converts including Lord Headly, who founded the British
Muslim Society and Marmaduke Pickthall who provided one of
the most eloquent English translations of the Quran. And others
like William Quilliam, Khalid Sheldrake, Hassan Suhrawardy
and Abdul Karim to name a few.
The mosque has played an important part in attracting a large
Muslim community to Woking. By 1924, the Muslim
population was a total of ten thousand in Britain; These Muslims
was mostly based around Woking. The population rocketed
after the Second World War. A number of buildings close by
have been restored. These are used as extra prayer halls and for
educational and sport purposes. The mosque now runs a school
and takes an active role in the community, there has been many
imams throughout the year the first was Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din
and presently it is imam Hafiz Muhammed Saeed Hashmi and
Hafiz Mohammed Akram, the mosque remains an active place of
worship today. The Shah Jahan mosque warmly welcomes
visitors of all faiths.