Jamiat-ul-Muslimin

Locations

59 Canton Street Poplar
London, E14 6ES
United Kingdom
30 Church Lane Whitechapel
London, E1 7QR
United Kingdom
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Date began: 
01 Jan 1934
Precise date began unknown: 
Y
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About: 

The Jamiat-ul-Muslimin, based at the East London Mosque, was a charitable society for the promotion of Islam, founded in 1934. It membership consisted predominantly of working-class lascars, peddlers and other workers who inhabited the East End of London. The Jamiat’s stated objectives were: ‘To serve the cause of Islam truly and practically by creating facilities for the observance of its Principles: to produce a weekly paper…to collect funds for a Mosque in the East End of London: to provide for the training and education of Muslims generally; to succour poor and needy Muslims: to promote social intercourse between resident Muslims and visitors to this country and generally to adopt all practical and legitimate means to work for the moral, intellectual and economic advancement of Muslims throughout the world’ (L/PJ/12/468). Thus, its objectives combined faith with the social and political. The organization first came to notice by government authorities in 1938 when it staged a protest against H. G. WellsA Short History of the World. The Jamiat organized a march to India House, Aldwych, where a deputation presented a petition to the High Commissioner for India, Firoz Khan Noon.

Before the establishment of the East London Mosque in 1941, the organization’s members would gather and worship at King’s Hall in Commercial Road. The Jamiat played a key role in the establishment, inauguration and management of the mosque. In 1943 they were involved in a dispute with the trustees of the mosque, claiming that they should have ultimate control over its management and affairs. There were also active branches of the Jamiat in Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. 

Key Individuals' Details: 

Dr Mohammed Buksh (original president), Allah Dad Khan (salesman and original treasurer), Sahibdur Khan (secretary of the Jamiat), K. Z. Lazhesar, Ghulam Mohammed (silk merchant and co-secretary), Mr Nakitullah, Ahmad Din Quereshi (silk merchant original co-secretary), Fazal Shah (leading figure in Jamiat, president of Hindustan Social Club and brother of Said Amir Shah), Said Amir Shah (treasurer of the Jamiat), Laj Mohamed Shank.

Connections: 
Involved in events details: 

Inauguration of the East London Mosque, 1 August 1941

Dispute with the trustees of the East London Mosque and bid for ultimate control over its management and affairs, October 1943

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Secondary works: 

Visram, Rozina, Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History (London: Pluto, 2002)

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Archive source: 

File IOR: L/PJ/12/468, African and Asian Studies Reading Room, British Library, St Pancras

File IOR: L/PJ/12/646, African and Asian Studies Reading Room, British Library, St Pancras