The Mubarak Mosque (English: ''The Blessed Mosque'') is a mosque in

Tilford Tilford is a village and civil parish centred at the point where the two branches of the River Wey merge in Surrey, England, south-east of Farnham. It has half of Charleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of the Greensand Rid ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, on the site of the international headquarters of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

, formally known as

Islamabad, Tilford Islamabad, in the village of Tilford, Surrey, England, is an estate which serves as the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Islamabad is 10.4 hectares in area, where four hectares are used for headquarter buildings, offices and resid ...

. It was inaugurated on Friday 17 May 2019 by

Mirza Masroor Ahmad Mirza Masroor Ahmad (; born 15 September 1950) is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Ahmadiyya Caliphate, Fifth Caliph of the Messiah (, ''khalīfatul masīh al- ...

, the fifth

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

of the

History

The place was established as Sheephatch Camp School, one of the 32 camp schools erected in 1939, designed by Thomas S Tait of Burnet, Tait & Lorne architects following the Camp Act 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was used as wartime evacuation centre for Ruckholt Road Central School in Leyton and later closed in 1943.

Original building

The land was sold for £80,000 but was again put on auction in 1984 and bought by

Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

. The original mosque which was established in the original barracks was named as "Bait-us-Salam" ''(The House of Peace)'' and the first prayer was led by

Mirza Tahir Ahmad Mirza Tahir Ahmad (; 18 December 1928 – 19 April 2003) was the fourth caliph (, ''khalīfatul masīh al-rābi'') and the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fourth successor of the founder of the commun ...

, the fourth caliph. In 2015,

Waverley Council Waverley Council is a Local government in Australia, Local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, ...

granted building permission for a new mosque and other facilities on the site and a complete modernisation of the facilities.

Inauguration

The formal inauguration of the mosque was held on 29 June 2019 in the presence of faith, civic and religious leaders. Around 300 guests were in attendance, including MP

Dominic Grieve Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (born 24 May 1956) is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parl ...

, former attorney general, MP

Sir Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change f ...

, chair of Tilford Parish Council Debra Lee, and former mayor of Farnham David Attfield.

Architecture

The mosque building consists of one dome and 32 fins including a glazed window in each fin. The mosque has two

minarets A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

standing just over 13m high with each minaret having a gilded

finials A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, tower, roof, or gable or an ...

References

External links