As there was no issue of Dawn today on account of Eid-ul-Fitr, following is an excerpt taken from the previous day’s paper.

LONDON: The first Moslem gathering in the new Islamic Cultural Centre at Regent’s Lodge in Park Road, Regent’s Park London, met today [Sept 19] to coincide with the Id — the religious feast which ends the Ramadan Fasting. Dr. Hassan Pasha, Egyptian Ambassador and Chairman of the London Mosque Committee welcomed the gathering in the drawing room overlooking the garden in which it was proposed to erect the Mosque at an estimated cost of half a million pounds.

Speaking in Arabic, he stated that the British Govt. had contributed the lodge which was worth about 100,000 pounds to the scheme in the same way that the Egyptian Govt. has granted the British Colony a central site overlooking the Nile at Cairo for the erection of a cathedral.

He thanked the British Govt. for the donation and also the King of Egypt for taking it under his patronage, and King Saud of Arabia, the Govt. and King of Iraq for their help and generous donations.

The congregation were led in prayer by Sheikh Hafez Wahaba, Saudi Arabian Minister. (Dawn, Delhi)

Published in Dawn, September 21th, 2014