London’s first mosque makes headlines in the English Press (1925)

London

We give below a few of the numerous notices which have appeared in the English Press in connection with the building of our London Mosque. It will be noticed that there have occurred some mistakes in some of these. The reverend AR Dard^[ra] is not an Englishman, and not all were Indians. Several English people took part in the ceremony, who can be seen in the various photos which have been published, and one was our brother Martins, from Nigeria. – Editor, The Review of Religions (1925)

London’s First Mosque – Building to Arabic Chants

“With a picturesque ceremony suggestive of the East, the building of the first London Mosque was commenced yesterday morning. The work is taking place in an orchard in Melrose Road, Putney, and is being undertaken by the Ahmadiyya movement. The sect is composed of a band of reformers, numbering in London, it is stated, some 200 to 300, and they claim to be the representatives of the true and original Islam. In addition to meeting for prayer, they attend periodical lectures, and their organisation produces a monthly journal.

“The religious ceremony yesterday began with the recital by the imam of prayers in Arabic, including those offered by Abraham^[as] at the time of building the Ka‘ba, the congregation answering ‘Amen.’ Then the imam and members of the community began the process of excavation, which, following the example of the founder of the religion, they discharged with their own hands. During the task, which continued for about half an hour, they chanted the Arabic verses which were voiced by the Prophet Mohammed^[sa] and his companions while they built, with their own hands, their first mosque, at Medina.

“The new structure, which will be white and of an Arabian style of architecture, will be surmounted with a dome rising about 50ft high. With the exception of one Englishman, those taking part in the ceremony yesterday were Indians.

“To a Press representative, the Rev. A. R. Dard, who was in charge, stated: ‘We believe that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, has come in the person of our founder, Ahmad^[as]. If anyone wages war in the name of religion, we consider that to be against the teachings of Islam. Several members of our community were stoned to death last year in Afghanistan because they dared to defend their religious convictions in this respect.’

“Prior to the ceremony, cables had been sent to the Khalifatul Masih at the headquarters in India and to co-religionists at Damascus, Salt Pond, Mauritius, Cairo, Lagos, Chicago, and other places, informing them of the occasion and time of commencement, so that members of the community might join in simultaneous prayer in various parts of the world.” From The Daily Telegraph, 29 September 1925.

New Moslem Mosque Near Wimbledon

“Excavations for the building of their First London Mosque were begun at Southfields yesterday by the Ahmadiyya Moslems. The mosque will be erected in an orchard attached to the house where the sect has hitherto worshipped.

“The foundation-stone of the mosque was laid by the head of the community, His Holiness the Khalifatul Masih, last autumn. Yesterday, a small company of Indians was present, together with the Rev. A. R. Dard, who was in charge of the Church. Mr Dard recited the same prayers in Arabic as were offered at the building of the Ka‘ba. The members of the community then began the work of excavation, chanting the same verses as were recited by the Prophet [Muhammad^(sa)] while he and his companions were building the Medina Mosque.

“Telegrams had previously been sent to the headquarters of the sect in India, stating the hour when the work would be begun, so that at the precise moment Moslems would also be at worship in India, America, Syria, Palestine, and other places.” From The Times, 29 September 1925.

Moslem Mosque in a London Orchard

Turbaned Englishman at Strange ceremony

Building Rite

“Beneath the apple trees of an orchard which nestles behind a dilapidated high wooden fence at Southfields, near Wimbledon, a peculiar ceremony was performed yesterday morning.

“Above the chirping of the birds came the persistent drone of a voice chanting prayers in a strange tongue.

“Passers-by stopped to listen. A peep behind the moss-covered fence revealed a picture suggestive of the mystic East.

“For some years, a sect known as the Ahmadiyyah Moslems have worshipped in a house at Melrose Road, Southfields, but they are now building a mosque in the orchard attached to the grounds.

“The brickwork will be white, and the mosque, of Arabian architecture, will be dominated by a dome towering 50 feet over the trees.

“The foundation stone was laid last autumn by the head of the community, His Holiness Khalifatul Messih, son and successor of Ahmad^[as], the founder of the sect.

“The members of the sect were yesterday morning making excavations for the foundation stones for the concrete pillars.

Facing Mecca

“The mihrab, which is a kind of Holy of Holies, had been erected in a temporary fashion, and in front of this were assembled the Chief Priest, accompanied by a dozen followers.

“They were all Indians, excepting one grey-haired Englishman, the Rev. A. R. Dard, who is in charge of the church. He wore white trousers and his head was covered with a turban of many colours.

“Mr. Dard recited the same prayers which were offered at the building of Ka‘ba, the central place to which the Moslems of the world turn at the time of prayer, and other prayers were similar to those chanted by the Prophet Mohammed^[sa] at the building of the Medina Mosque.

“The building will face towards Mecca, the centre of Moslem worship.

“Cables were dispatched to our headquarters in India,” the Rev. A. R. Dard told a Press representative, “notifying them of the time of our ceremony, and at the moment our prayers opened, Moslems would be at worship in India, America, Syria, Palestine, and other places.” From The Daily Chronicle, 29 September 1925.

Islam in a London Orchard

Prayers on the Site of a New Mosque

“Prayers that were chanted by Mohammed himself while he and his companions built the Medina Mosque were recited in an orchard at Southfields, near Wimbledon, yesterday, while a group of Indian and English followers of Islam dug up the ground for the foundations of their new mosque. A temporary Mihrab, the holy of holies,” had been erected under the apple trees.

“The chief priest was an Englishman, the Rev. A. R. Dard, who wore a multi-coloured turban. Most of the older men were also in Oriental dress, but there were a number of younger Moslems in Fair Isle jumpers.

“All belonged to the Ahmadiyyah sect, the London members of which have for a number of years worshipped in the house to which the orchard is attached. The actual foundation stone of the mosque was laid a year ago by the head of the community, the Khalifutal Messih, and yesterday’s ceremony was that of excavating for the foundations of the concrete pillars.” From The Daily Express, 29 September 1925.

Muezzin in London

Work on the First Mosque Begun

World Chain of Prayer

“At 11 o’clock yesterday morning, when turbaned Orientals were digging with their own hands the first soil for the foundations of London’s first mosque at Melrose Road, Southfields, S.W., brethren of the movement – the Ahmadiyya – at places as far apart as India, Damascus, Mauritius, Cairo, Lagos, and Chicago, were offering up prayers for the building.

“Cables had been sent to these places in order that the prayers should synchronise with the commencement of building operations. The ceremony at Southfields was a picturesque one, in which twenty members of the movement, some in western dress, some in eastern, took part.

“First, the imam, in turban, long overcoat, and white trousers, offered up prayers in Arabic, which were those offered at the time of the building of the Ka‘ba, the others lifting up their hands in prayer. 

Minarets

“Then the imam, with the others following suit, took shovels, and dug the earth, and bore it from the site, chanting Arabic verses such as were recited by the Holy Prophet Mohammed^[sa] and his followers as they built with their own hands their first mosque at Medina.

“The names of those taking part in the excavation work are to be preserved in the building.

“The mosque, principally a cement structure, is to be completed by March next at an estimated cost of £3,000.

“It will have a dome and four minarets, one at each corner, from which the muezzin will call the faithful to prayer five times every day, a strange call, indeed, to be heard in a London suburb.” From Westminster Gazette, 29 September 1925.

The 1924 Religious Conference reviewed

Lieutenant-General FH Tyrrell, reviewing the report of the Religious Conference in the Asiatic Review, says:

“Doctor Sufi Hafiz Raushan Ali^[ra] of the Punjab, in his paper on Sufism, tries to controvert the theory of a reaction of the Aryan spirit against the system of Islam, and asserts that the whole warp and woof of Sufism is Islamic; but it is a fact that Sufism is to be found chiefly in Persia or in districts contiguous to Persia and its literature is predominantly Persian.

“The mystical speculation of the Sufis engaged in a continual search for absolute truth is in striking contrast with the directness and simplicity of the affirmation of the creed of Islam: ‘Praise to the name Almighty! There is no God but one! And Muhammad^[sa] is His prophet, and His will shall ever be done!’ Many a Christian missionary has wished that he were equipped with a creed at once so simple and so comprehensive.

“Much of the time of the Conference was occupied by the latest religious movement in Islam […] the Ahmadiyya sect, founded in 1890 in British India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^[as], who claimed to be in his own person both the Mahdi or Guide, foretold by Muhammad^[sa], and the Messiah foretold by the Hebrew prophets. His eloquence and piety gained him a considerable following, and when he died in 1908, his death, [contrary to] the case of the late Mahdi of the Eastern Sudan, did not discount his pretensions nor discourage his adherents, and his mantle descended upon the shoulders of one of his disciples, Maulvi Nur-ud-Din^[ra]. He, in turn, was succeeded by the present Khalifatul Masih (Deputy of the Messiah), who attended the Conference in person at the head of twenty green-turbaned disciples, and explained his position and his views.

“Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din, Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih^[ra] for such is his full name and title, has his headquarters at Qadian in the Punjab, and claims that his disciples number about a million souls, mostly residing in the British Empire, but some also in Persia, Bukhara, Egypt, France, Algeria, and the United States of America. Some of these Ahmadiyya or Qadiani Moslems have lately been rewarded with the crown of martyrdom by their fellow Muslims in Afghanistan, to whom they had […] propounded their views.”

West Africa

The members of our Jamaat in West Africa and India will be pleased to know that Mr Jibril Martins, the late General Secretary of our Community in Nigeria, and Mr Abdur Rahim Khalid, the son of Khan Muhammad Ali Khan of Malerkotla, have this year [1925] passed the Final Bar Examination. Mr Martins has taken a second class and intends to continue his studies for another year.

Mr Khalid’s name, it will be remembered, is associated with a miracle. When he was a child, he fell ill with typhoid fever. The doctors despaired of his life and declared that he could not possibly recover. Prophet Ahmad^[as] prayed and interceded for the child, who thereupon began to improve and was restored to health within a few days. Mr Khalid has promised to pay 3,000 rupees to the London Mosque Fund.

We wish our brothers every kind of success in life.

(Transcribed and edited by Al Hakam from the original English, published in the November 1925 issue of The Review of Religions)