The Shah Jahan Mosque PHOTOBOOK By K aw s a r A h m e d
The Shah Jahan Mosque 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.
Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner 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.
Sultan Shah Jehan Begum 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 minority, 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.
Khwaja Kamal ud Din 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.
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.
Architecture 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.
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.