Myself alongside my friend and host, Talha Sami in the Mubarak Mosque in Islamabad, Tilford© Surrey Live
Many may not be aware, but Surrey is home to one of the world’s most important Islamic communities, and they have had ties to the county for over a century.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a sect of the Islamic religion, originated in late 19th Century British India but have more recently found Surrey to be its home. Their headquarters is now based in Tilford, near Farnham at a site named Islamabad.
With Ramadan fully underway, I thought it would be a great time to visit Islamabad myself and meet with the community, speak to them about their religion and understand why the site in the Surrey Hills is so important to them.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is said to have tens of millions of members across the world, with Islamabad, Surrey said to be one of their most important© Surrey Live
My visit took place during their ‘Big Iftar’ event on Saturday, February 28 and I can say have never witnessed such a welcoming community, so dedicated to their religion and supporting those around them.
The Ahmadiyya community was established in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Punjab, India. It is described as a revivalist movement which aims to promote peace, love, and the moderate teachings of Islam with its founder claiming to be the ‘promised reformer’ for the latter days, aiming to unite humanity and revive Islam.
After Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s death in 1908, the movement continued under a system of spiritual leadership called the Caliphate.
In 2026, the current Caliph, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad calls Islamabad, Tilford his private residence. This makes the site one of particular importance to Ahmadis.
Following the partition of India in 1947, many members of the community moved to Pakistan. However, there they faced persecution. In 1974 the country’s parliament declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslim under its constitution, and by 1984, legislation was put in place to discriminate against Ahmadis practising their religion.
Outside the Mubarak Mosque in Islamabad, Tilford© Surrey Live
Around this time, many Ahmadis began to emigrate to other parts of the world, particularly London but also Surrey.
The community’s ties to Surrey actually go much further back though. In the early 20th Century, Ahmadi academics visited Woking, finding the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking, which had become disused after the death of its founder, but is the UK’s first ever purpose built Mosque.
The academics made it their mission to bring the now Grade I listed building back into use. Establishing the first overseas Ahmadiyya mission based around the mosque in 1913.
By 1922, what is believed to be the UK’s first ever public celebration of the end of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr was held at the Shah Jahan Mosque.
Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking was built in 1889, making it the UK’s first purpose-built mosque© Grahame Larter/SurreyLive
In the century since, the Ahmadiyya community has had a continued presence in Surrey. With the county being solidified as an important religious site for the community in 2019, upon the reconstruction and reopening of Islamabad, Tilford in a former army barracks which the community had purchased in 1984.
In the present, the Ahmadis have long-standing communities in Aldershot, Farnham, Guildford, Woking and many more.
All of which came in their hundreds to the ‘Big Iftar’ event on Saturday, February 26, to break their fast together and also share their religion with others.
I was one of the many people invited to the event by a friend of mine, Talha Sami, a Surrey-based GP and healthcare author who is also part of the Ahmadiyya community’s outreach team.
On my visit, I was truly impressed with the community’s organisation and generosity, I truly have not shaken so many people’s hands in one evening.
When speaking with organisers, they shared that the Iftar event provided three course meals for more than 500 people, all in one hall, all at the same time. In attendance were MPs for Aldershot, councillors for Woking as well as many non-Muslim friends of the community.
Inside the hall for the ‘Big Iftar’ event, which organisers told me fed over 500 people at once© Surrey Live
The meals I tried at the event deserve full praise to those who prepared them in such quantity. Traditional south Asian cuisines I had never tried before, to those I am more aware of from British-Indian takeaways. All of the food was lovely, and it was truly great to eat among so many people at once.
I was honoured to visit the elegant and beautifully symmetric Mubarak Mosque, and witness the time of prayer following the meal.
Throughout the day, I witnessed a thriving community. From children playing football in the grounds while their parents watched along to crowds of people embracing and ‘catching-up’ with one another.
Speaking to Talha at the end of the day, I asked why Islamabad is such an important place for Ahmadis. To which he explained:
“Islamabad is a really special place to all of us. It has a beautiful mosque. It’s has space that we can all congregate as well. Ramadan is a very special month for Muslims, because it’s when the Holy Quran, which we believe is the final word of God, was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with him.
The Ahmadiyya community is also known for being some of the first people to translate the Quran into languages across the world© Surrey Live
“The book (Quran) is a reminder for us to gather with humanity, which is what we’ve done today, and we invited so many external guests as well, like yourself.
“It’s an amazing place. It hosts weddings, it hosts prayers, obviously. It hosts sports tournaments and everything in between. It used to be a military barracks, and since it was converted, it hosts some of the highest scholars of the Ahmadiyya community in the world.
“So it’s a very special place, and people come from all around the world just to visit this site from America to Africa. So for us to live nearby is just another blessing.”
Speaking on Tilford being the home of the Ahmadiyya Caliphate, Talha said: “We are so grateful that we are able to see him (in person).
“He’s a role model for us. He gives us moral guidance, (teaching us) how to deal with the struggles and the challenges of 2026, how we can maintain a strong connection to God and give back to our community.”
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, UK