I visited one of Surrey’s most significant religious sites for Ramadan and felt truly welcomed by the community

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.

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.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.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.

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/visited-one-surreys-most-significant-33515298