The Fazl Mosque, London’s first purpose-built mosque, has marked its centenary with a special reception celebrating 100 years of worship, community service and interfaith engagement in Southfields, Southwest London.
The event, held on October 3, 2026, commemorated the mosque’s inauguration in 1926 and featured a special address by the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V.
Reflecting on the centenary, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said: “The Fazl Mosque was built through the sacrifice of people who gave what little they had for a place many of them would never themselves see.
“As we mark this historic anniversary, Ahmadi Muslims will express their gratitude to God through prayers for peace and by helping their neighbours and those in need by giving their time for the betterment of society. This is the true spirit of Islam.”
The mosque was funded largely through donations from Ahmadi Muslims in British India, including women who donated jewellery and children who contributed their pocket money.
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Rafiq Hayat, Amir and National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, said: “Our members were made welcome here, and that welcome has never been forgotten.
“This centenary belongs to Britain as much as it belongs to us. We are marking it by showing once again that we are here not as guests but as loyal citizens who want to help our country in every way possible to progress and prosper, especially by helping the most in need.”
The Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Emilline Owens, highlighted the mosque’s role in building bridges between faiths and noted that it also served as a COVID-19 vaccination centre.
High Sheriff for Greater London, Dhruv Patel OBE, commended the mosque “for providing food and companionship to the people of Britain,” describing it as a practical expression of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s motto, “Love For All, Hatred For None.”
MP and Liberal Democrat spokesperson for London, Luke Taylor, described the centenary as “an opportunity to celebrate the building and people, building community links across Putney and Britain as a whole.”
Member of Parliament for Mitcham and Morden, Dame Siobhain McDonagh, said: “I appreciate women who donated funds for the construction of the mosque from the Indo-Pak region 100 years ago.”
The centenary celebrations, held under the theme, “Fazl Mosque: Beacon of Peace – A Century of Integration, Loyalty, and Service,” included prayers, community service projects, 10,000 meals for homeless people and 10,000 volunteer hours dedicated to helping people across Britain.
The mosque, designed by Lancashire-born architect Thomas Hayton Mawson, was inaugurated on October 3, 1926. It later became the international headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and remains a centre for worship and community activities.
The centenary programme also featured Dhruv Patel OBE presenting a centenary award to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK for its service to the wider London community.
Representatives from Tanzania, Gambia, Guinea, Tuvalu, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru, Andorra, Malaysia, Ghana and Malawi attended the celebration.
Personal Experience
Qasim Akinreti, PhD, a Nigerian journalist and Ahmadiyya Muslim, shared his personal experience at the Fazl Mosque, describing it as a place deeply connected to his spiritual and professional journey.
Akinreti said he had the opportunity to pray in the mosque for the first time in 2002 as a postgraduate student at the University of Nottingham.
He prayed behind the late Huzur, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV, in 2002, and the current Huzur, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, in 2009.
He recalled that the main building directly in front of the mosque served for several years as the official residence of the Khalifa and the headquarters of the Jamaat in the UK, following the movement of Khalifatul Masih IV from Pakistan to London in 1984.
“One of the adjacent guest houses was my abode for one week before I proceeded to Nottingham to resume my postgraduate studies,” he said.
Three days before his final return to Nigeria after completing a Master’s Degree in Online Journalism at the Nottingham Trent University Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism in 2003, Akinreti said he prayed inside the mosque, asking Allah for guidance and sound health to use his knowledge for his career advancement and service to Voice of Nigeria (VON), Nigeria and the Jamaat in general.
“Those prayers have come to pass,” he said.
Akinreti said he had since risen in his journalism career, adding that he was appointed Coordinator of MTA Nigeria Studios in 2016 and served as a member of the Aamila Executive Council of the Jamaat, in charge of Publications, for 13 years during the Imarat of Professor Moshood Fashola.
He is currently the Media Lead for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat of Nigeria under Alhaji Alatoye Folorunso Azeez.
“Coincidentally, I had promotion examinations and an interview for the position of Director, Digital Media, during the week. It was a resounding success.
“What nostalgia!”
