Shah Jahan Mosque — Attraction in Woking

The Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking, Britain’s first official mosque, is a shameful betrayal of Islamic values, functioning as an exclusive club rife with bias, prejudice, and barbaric hostility toward Muslim travelers.

My own experience, echoed by negative reviews citing unwelcoming attitudes, confirms this mosque is a toxic, hypocritical environment where solo Muslims face verbal and physical assault, leaving me horrified and unwilling to ever return.

On a Friday, an unprovoked incident in the main hall saw a peaceful Muslim traveler—a medical consultant with a long beard, keffiyeh turban, and knee-length shirt—verbally and physically attacked by a volunteer staff member. The assault, witnessed by congregants, imams, and committee members, went unaddressed, with no one intervening or showing remorse. Instead, volunteers tried to silence and eject the victim when he sought to complain, revealing a cowardly, complicit community.

This aligns with reviews like “Ahmed” and “Fatima,” who noted hostility toward outsiders. The imam, preaching about respecting travellers and strangers just minutes earlier, stood idly by—a disgusting display of hypocrisy that mocks Islam’s teachings.

This wasn’t isolated. The victim reported similar aggression 25 years ago at this mosque, targeted for being an “outsider.”

The mosque’s cliquish culture fosters division, with two separate Friday congregations due to feuding imams, creating a politically charged, drama-filled atmosphere.

Volunteers and locals treat solo Muslims with open disrespect, while non-Muslim visitors receive gracious welcomes—an infuriating double standard that exposes their backward, barbaric mindset.

Management’s indifference is deplorable. The victim’s emailed complaint went unanswered, with no apology or investigation, signaling contempt for justice.

This neglect, noted by reviewers, proves the mosque prioritizes protecting its “club” over addressing injustice.

The sermon’s call for kindness to strangers rings hollow when congregants and staff assault Muslims in plain sight.

Despite its stunning architecture and extended parking, these are meaningless amid such a vile atmosphere. Parking remains chaotic, reflecting the mosque’s broader disarray.

Compared to inclusive mosques like East London Mosque, Shah Jahan is a disgrace. Avoid this hypocritical, unsafe club—true Muslims...

I am very displeased with this Mosque as the users park on the pavements, blind corners and most annoying my private parking space. When confronted to inform it is a private parking area they get annoyed. I have seen wheel chair users and pushchairs having to go on the main road as they park on the pavement. Emergency vehicles could not get through if needed. The users are very rude as they refuse to move to let my wife past and force her to go onto the road which intimidates her, they move out of the way for me as I refuse to move out of the way. The Council have been informed and I have phoned the Mosque on several occasions and nothing has changed nor have they bothered to call me back. I am happy that they have a community and a place to worship but something has to be done. I have previously lived in Leicester where there are several Mosques and they supply coaches and mini buses to avoid this issue. I am going to write to my local MP to see if something can be done before someone is injured due to the parking and the above reasons. Also I would appreciate it if the users could arrive and leave in a respectful manner as at certain times of the year they use the Mosque in the late evening/early hours of the day and they beep car horns, play loud music and are vocally loud which is anti social. I am not a killjoy but to live in harmony with the people who live in the area they need to be respectful and mindful of the above. Please note that 99% of my reviews are positive I am not one to moan...

On 30th December 2016, I visited Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking, Southwest of London with my friend Hamid Ayub Khan and our families. It is the first purpose-built mosque in the UK.Built in 1889 by Hungarian-British JEW and Orientalist Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner. Partly funded by Sultan Shah Jahan, Begam of Bhopal as a place for muslim students at the Oriental Institute in Woking to worship at. This institute was founded by Leitner in 1881. He had purchased the former Royal Dramatic College building in Woking & established the institute in order to promote Oriental literature. It awarded degrees from the Punjab University, Lahore. He is said to have had acquaintance with some 50 languages, many of which he spoke fluently. He became principal of Government Cleege Lahore in 1864 at the age of 24. This mosque fell into disuse after his death 1899 & 1912. Khawaja Kamal Uddin, an Indian A hmadiyya missionary refound. renovate & reopened this mosque in 1913. Now it is in the control of Sunni muslims. Among others Quaid e Azam, Shah Faisal of Saudia & Agha Khan lll visited this mosque. We also visited the Brookwood graveyard in Woking where we managed to find & paid Fateha on the graves of Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall, a famous English translator of Quran, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, another famous English mufassar e Quran. He was a respected intellectual of India, belong to Dawoodi Bohra community and recruited by Allama Iqbal as principal of Islamia College Lahore. He died in 1953. And Lord Headley, famous...