Students of our Diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies & Leadership travelled to Woking, the home of the first purpose-built mosque in the UK, to learn more about the origins of the Muslim community in Britain.
The Shah Jahan Mosque, constructed in 1889 and designed in Indo-Saracenic style by architect William Isaac Chambers and the Orientalist scholar Gottlieb Leitner, stands as a symbol of the rich Islamic heritage in Britain and serves as a center for worship and community engagement. Students were even able to see archival materials, including the original Arabic dictionaries supposedly used by Abdullah Yusuf Ali when formulating his renowned Qur’an translation.
Students also visited the Peace Garden, originally the burial ground of Muslim soldiers who had fought in the First World War, now a memorial celebrating the locale’s relationship with the Shah Jahan Mosque
The trip was then completed by a visit to the Brookwood Cemetery, where the graves of some of the most significant early British Muslim thinkers and activists can be found, including Abdullah Quilliam, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Pickthall, and more recently Hasan Le Gai Eaton.
Admissions are open for our unique diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies & Leadership, which equips Dar al-Ulum graduates & others trained in the Islamic sciences with practical skills & real world experience that, in turn, develop their leadership skills and enhances their career prospects.
🔗 For more information & to apply, visit our dedicated programme page.
