London Central Mosque

About London Central Mosque

Mosque in England

The London Central Mosque, also known as the Regent's Park Mosque, is London's most important and best-known mosque, standing on the edge of Regent's Park in the City of Westminster: a group of elegant buildings in a distinctive Islamic style with a large golden dome and a minaret visible across the park. The Islamic Cultural Centre was founded in 1944 after the British government donated the land under Churchill in recognition of Muslim soldiers in the war, and was opened by King George VI; the present mosque was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd and completed in 1978 with funding from several Muslim countries. The mosque holds about 5,000 worshippers, with a women's prayer area overlooking the main hall from the gallery, a library with room for 100,000 books, a large lecture hall, offices for the council and its staff and accommodation for those who run the centre, along with a restaurant and a bookshop. The Islamic Cultural Centre is one of the oldest Islamic centres in Europe and plays an important role in dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims and in spreading Islamic culture and the Arabic language in Britain; it offers classes in prayer and Qur'anic interpretation and introductory sessions for new Muslims, and hosts the religious celebrations that bring London's Muslim community together, filling with worshippers of every nationality for Friday prayer, Ramadan and the two Eids. According to Wikivoyage the mosque welcomes non-Muslim visitors provided they are suitably dressed, and for Muslim visitors to London it is the first stop for prayer and for meeting the community.

Where:

London, United Kingdom