London mosques get listed status celebrating Muslim heritage

ARTDAILY
In this file photo taken on July 15, 2005 Muslims kneel at London's Central Mosque in Regents Park during Friday's prayers. Carl DE SOUZA / AFP.
LONDON (AFP).- Two London mosques were given special listed status Tuesday in recognition of their architectural and historic importance, in a move a government minister said celebrated "the rich heritage of Muslim communities in England". The London Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre in Regent's Park, central London, and the Fazl Mosque in the southwest of the British capital were both listed as Grade II buildings by the government's culture department. Although there are around 1,500 mosques in Britain, fewer than 20 percent are purpose-built according to Heritage England, which compiles the listings. The country's first purpose-built mosque opened in Woking, a town south-west of London, in 1889. [More]