The Islamic Cultural Centre which includes the London Central Mosque has been established since 1944. It was officially opened by His Majesty King George VI in November 1944. The 2.3 acres of site adjacent to Hanover Gate in Regent's Park, was presented as an unconditional gift from the British Government to the UK Muslim Community in Britain to enable the latter, to build a mosque and an Islamic Cultural Centre, to conduct the affairs pertaining to their faith. A Mosque Committee comprising various prominent Muslim diplomats and Muslim residents in the United Kingdom gratefully accepted the gift which was intended mainly as a tribute to the thousands of Indian Muslim soldiers who had died defending the then British Empire, which at the time, had more Muslim inhabitants than Christians.

The Mosque Committee registered the London Central Mosque Trust Limited as a Trust Corporation in September 1947. The delay from 1944 to 1947 was caused by disruptions to civil life due to war. Seven representatives from six Muslim countries acted as Trustees. In 1995, the Council counted its members from twenty-nine different countries. The Board of Trustees of the Islamic Cultural Centre is the Diplomatic Representatives of Muslim countries accredited to the Court of St. James.

The two main objectives of the Mosque Committee in 1944 was the building of a mosque on the given site and the founding of a religious and Cultural Centre for the Muslim community of Great Britain.
Construction work for the Mosque Building Complex comprising the Main Prayer Halls (both men and ladies), the Library, the old Administrative Block and the Residential Quarter commenced in early 1974 and was completed in July 1977 (after a long protracted planning application to various authorities). A new Educational and Administrative Wing was added and completed in 1994.

The London Central Mosque and the annexed Islamic Cultural Centre have become the focus of Islam and Muslims in the UK. In addition to providing facilities for daily worship by Muslims and Islamic Education for the children in Central London and the surrounding areas, the Centre is proud to have played a pivotal role in the establishment of almost every other mosque and Islamic institutions in the UK which are intended to serve their respective local Muslim community.

 

 The capacity for praying purposes at the mosque was designed to accommodate about 4500 people, including the basement foyers and extended open wings. But in practice, the figure may top 6000 worshippers during the Summer period when up to 1000 or more offer their prayers in the open forecourt of the mosque. For the two Eid festivals, up to 50,000 Muslims visit the Mosque and offer their Eid prayers in batches (six on an average Eid day).

The Centre has, since its establishment, acted on behalf of all British Muslims vis-à-vis the British Government, and Local Authorities and other official bodies, in matters such as health, education and welfare.
1900 -
1930 		Several efforts were made to build a mosque in Central London, including one, initiated by Lord Headley, and English convert to Islam, whose project was funded by the Nizam of Hyderabad
1939 -
1940		 Lord Lloyd of Dolobran, (1879-1941), Secretary Of State For The Colonies, & former President of the British Council, working with a Mosque Committee, comprising various prominent Muslims and Ambassadors in London persuaded the British Government to present a site for a mosque in London for the Muslim community of Great Britain, as he pointed out in a memo to the Prime Minister, inter-alia "only London contains more Moslems than any other European capital but in our empire which actually contains more Moslems than Christians it was anomalous and inappropriate that there should be no central place of worship for Mussulmans" Muslims were for the first time on the Allied side of the war.
24 Oct
1940		 The Churchill War Cabinet authorised the allocation of a sum of up to £100,000 for the acquisition of a site for a mosque in London.
Nov
1944		 King George VI visited the Regent’s Lodge and officially opened the Islamic Cultural Centre.
1954 -
1967		 Several designs were considered for a mosque but the necessary planning approval were not granted.
1969 An Open International Competition was held. Over a hundred designs from several Muslim and non-Muslim countries were submitted and that of Frederick Gibberd, an English architect was chosen. His design was finally granted planning permission.
1974 Construction work commenced and was completed in 1977 at a cost of £6.5 million.

The design of the Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre can be divided into four elements:

the main building consisting of the two prayers halls;
a three-storey wing including entrance hall, library, reading room and administration offices;
a detached three-storey residential block and the minaret.
a new Educational wing was added in 1994