London Central mosque given Grade II* listed status

A landmark London mosque has been given Grade II* listed status in recognition of its historic, cultural and architectural importance.

The London Central mosque in Regent’s Park was built in the 1970s, three decades after the acquisition of the site was authorised by Churchill’s war cabinet in recognition of the importance of Islam in an increasingly multicultural society.

A design by the British architect Sir Frederick Gibberd was chosen in an international competition. According to Historic England, which recommended the mosque for listing by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), “his elegant scheme combined architectural traditions of British modernism with historic Islamic forms”.

The mosque, which took two years to build at a cost of £6m, can hold several thousand worshippers in its grand prayer hall. Its golden dome and 44-metre minaret make it a London landmark.

The Fazl mosque in Southfields, south-west London, has been given Grade II listing. It was the first purpose-built mosque in London when inaugurated in October 1926 and cost £6,223. It is now the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

Source: theguardian