"The "mosque" story it is simply not true. Probably you couldn't find the cathedral supposedly to be built in in Saudi Arabia because it was actually to be built in Cairo. Had you looked things up correctly you would have found it."

I never mentioned a cathedral....I said a church in Saudi.
Thanks.


>>>>History

1900 - 1930 Several efforts were made to build a mosque in Central London, including one, initiated by Lord Headley
Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley
Rowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley , also known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq, was an Irish peer and a prominent convert to Islam, who was also one of the leading members of the Woking Muslim Mission alongside Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din...
, an English convert to Islam. This project was funded by the Nizam of Hyderabad.

1939 - 1940
Lord Lloyd of Dolobran, (1879-1941), Secretary Of State For The Colonies, & former President of the British Council, works with a Mosque Committee, comprising various prominent Muslims and Ambassadors in London. Lord Lloyd sends a memo to the Prime Minister, in which he points out, inter-alia "only London contains more Moslems than any other European capital but in our empire which actually contains more Moslems than Christians it was anomalous and inappropriate that there should be no central place of worship for Mussulmans".

1940
The British Government is persuaded to present a site for a mosque in London for the Muslim community of Great Britain. On 24 October the Churchill War Cabinet authorizes allocation of £100,000 for acquisition of a mosque site in London. The intent was to enable Muslims in Britain to build a mosque and an Islamic Cultural Centre, so they could conduct affairs pertaining to their faith. The gift was also intended as a tribute to the thousands of Indian Muslim soldiers who died defending the British Empire.
1944
A Mosque Committee comprising various prominent Muslim diplomats and Muslim residents in the United Kingdom accepted the gift and The Islamic Cultural Centre which includes the London Central Mosque, was established and officially opened in November by His Majesty King George VI.

1947
The Mosque Committee registered the London Central Mosque Trust Limited as a Trust Corporation in September. At the time, seven representatives from six Muslim countries acted as Trustees.

1954 - 1967
Several designs were considered for the mosque. There were long protracted planning application to various authorities but the necessary planning approval was not granted.

1969
An Open International Competition was held for the design of the building. Over one hundred designs were submitted, from both Muslim and non-Muslim applicants. The design finally selected was by the English architect Frederick Gibberd
Frederick Gibberd
Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd was an English architect and landscape designer.Gibberd was born in Coventry, the eldest of the five children of a local tailor, and was educated at the city's King Henry VIII School...
. His design of The Main Mosque Building Complex can be divided into two elements: A main building consisting of the two prayers halls and three-story wings including an entrance hall, library, reading room, administration offices and the minaret;

£2 Million of funding was donated for the construction of the ICC by His Majesty King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud
Fahd of Saudi Arabia
King Fahad bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Head of the House of Saud as well as Prime Minister...
. Further donation was provided by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ruler of Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital of, and the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast...
and President of the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE consists of seven states, termed emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras...
.

1974
Construction work began early this year with the Main Mosque Building Complex, comprising Men's and ladies Main Prayer Halls, Library, Administrative Block and Residential Quarters.

1977
Work is completed in July with the total cost of £6.5 million. The first Director of the Islamic Centre was Raja of Mahmudabad. A special fund paid for a new Educational & Administrative wing which was completed in 1994. This was donated by Saudi King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz
Fahd of Saudi Arabia
King Fahad bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Head of the House of Saud as well as Prime Minister...<<<<<<




Whatever the history of it is, I distinctly remember Uncle Kelvin, who then worked for Laings, telling us the deal was that Laings would also be building a church in Saudi Arabia as well as the mosque in London, a sort of 'exchange'.   As I said earlier, Dave, Uncle Kelvin (not my real Uncle, but so close he was 'family') died a few years back...he had that terrible disease that Dudley Moore had, poor soul) Anyway, I remember sitting in the kitchen and hearing him tell us, but I can't verify the absolute facts, because he's not here to ask any longer, sadly, and I was still a teenager, so it was a verrrrrrrry long time ago, but I remember he was very excited about it. I think it's rather lovely that the Regent's Park Mosque was built by a firm whose owner had strong Christian beliefs.


And Carol, I'm afraid, whether you like it or not, it's the Extremists who are er..Being Extreme in the name of Allah who are causing the world hellish problems right now. I actually don't regard them as 'true Muslims' because Islam is about peace...but the more that the entire Muslim Religion speaks out, SHOUTS out about these murderous, controlling thugs, the better it will be.

I dislike obsessive fundamentalists, whatever their cause or faith.

Oh, and as you like to defend the scapegoats in our society, well.....seems to me that Christians are having a pretty shitty time at present, being made to feel they're odd and wicked, and many a nasty thing has been written about them on Mudcat, yet...you keep quiet.

Why is that?