Woking's Muslim Heritage
Woking is proud of its long and significant links with the Muslim community in Britain, which most noteably began with the establishment of the Oriental Institute by Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, in 1884.
This was soon followed by the building of the Shah Jahan Mosque in 1889, also by Leitner, which was the first purpose-built mosque in Britain. It is now a Grade I listed building.
More recently, the Peace Garden at the Muslim Burial Ground was restored to its former glory with the help of English Heritage and Woking Borough Council funding. The garden was the very first burial site dedicated to Muslim soldiers, and the Grade II listed monument was formally reopened in 2015.
In addition, Britain’s first Muslim cemetery can be found at Brookwood Cemetery, to the west of the Borough and adjacent to Brookwood Railway Station.
Visitors can learn all about sites like these and Woking's wider Muslim Heritage by joining part or all of the Muslim Heritage Trail, the first of its kind in Britain, which was officially launched in 2019.
There are two trails you can download. "These trails were created by the Everyday Muslim Heritage and Archive Initiative"