London Central Mosque Trust & The Islamic Cultural Centre

 
      

12 Apr 2026

The ICC Library Lecture Series invites you to a special book launch titled:

Book Launch Friendships in the Square, Muslim Activism in Historic London, 1880s to the 1940s (2025)

Free registration below



Special Guest Author:Dr M A Sherif
Date:Thursday, 30 April 2026
Time: 6pm - 7:30 pm
Doors open 5.30pm
Location: London Central Mosque
Library Conference Hall (Hall D)
Language: English
Refreshments will be available.
Entrance: Free. Everyone is welcome


Book launch: Friendships in the Square, Muslim Activism in Historic London, 1880s to the 1940s (2025)

About the Book

Friendships in the Square is a collection of true stories of people, places and solidarities in London in the recent past. It is about the pioneers who laid the foundations for the Muslim presence we see in this great city today. They came from different backgrounds and traditions but found common cause in working for Muslim interests. The word 'Friendship' refers to the bonds of trust and loyalty that underpin organisational life; the 'Square' recalls the public squares and parks, well familiar to these personalities because they lived or worked in their vicinities. The book draws on a variety of archival sources to trace events such as 'Eid prayers in a park (1904), the charity to help in burials (1925); founding of the East London Mosque and the London Central Mosque & Islamic Cultural Centre (early 1940s). There are also examples of the support from Englishmen of goodwill. London's Muslim history goes back a long way, and its telling is important for a complete account of the city's own history.

About the author:

Dr M A Sherif is a data analyst by profession and author of 'Searching for Solace, A biography of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Interpreter of the Qur'an' (1994). He serves on the Muslim Council of Britain's Research & Documentation committee and the East London Mosque archives working group. He has a long association with the Regents Park mosque since his student days, when the London Islamic Circle would meet on Saturday afternoons in the library room of the old building.

Also speaking at the launch will be Humayun Ansari, Emeritus Professor in the History of Islam and Cultural Diversity, Royal Holloway.

Register below for this book launch event.

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