The Shah Jahan Mosque - Photobook

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.