The London Mosque

The design of the mosque is credited to Thomas Mawson. The plans form part of the Mawson archive held by the Cumbria Archive Service. The foundation stone was laid in 1924 by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, the second Caliph, who was visiting London as the representative of Islam at The Conference of Living Religions that was being held at the Imperial Institute in South Kensington. The foundation ceremony of the mosque was attended by 200 guests. Building of the mosque began in September 1925 and was completed 10 months later. It was named the Fazl Mosque by the caliph. The mosque was due to be formally opened by Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia who, however, was stopped from doing so by…

The exterior of the Fazl Mosque consists of a green dome, with the apex of the dome standing 10m high. The dome rests on a square base, with four cupolas on each corner of the building. The mosque is a blend of classic Mughal architecture and British contemporary styles. The mosque's use of modern construction and modern materials created a separation from orientalist architecture, a style of architecture seen in other early mosques in London such as the Shah Jahan Mosque. The blend of formal features mixed with contemporary styles led the mosque to be recognized as a grade II listed building. The dome appears at the front of the current building as the original plan was to extend the front…