03 January,2009 07:05 PM IST | | PTI
A landmark mosque, described as the "birthplace of Islam in Britain," is all set to be restored to its former glory after more than a century of disuse. The restoration work on the first ever mosque to be built in Britain in 1899 located in Liverpool will be carried out by the Abdullah Quillam Society.
Work will begin from February and will cost 3 million pounds, reports from Liverpool said. The society is named after Henry William Quilliam, a wealthy businessman who took on the name of Abdullah after converting to Islam.
He opened the mosque in 1899, but it ceased to function when he decided to become a world traveller in 1908. Now Mohammad Akbar Ali, 85, a retired doctor, has decided to restore the historical structure and created the Abdullah Quilliam Society.
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Galib Khan, who is the current chairman of the Abdullah Quilliam Society and lives in Liverpool, said he hoped part of the building could be opened within the next six months. He told The Independent: 'It's a heritage site for us. This truly is the birthplace of Islam in Britain.
We will start on the refurbishment once we have finalised the lease arrangements with the city council and want to make it into a heritage centre for Islamic culture and interfaith dialogue.' Mumin Khan, chief executive of the Abdullah Quilliam Society, said: 'We have reached a milestone and breakthrough by raising more than a quarter of a million pounds in pledges for the work with one of the Bangladeshi-language channels, Channel S.
This allows us to start the refurbishment phase of the project while carrying out further fund raising.'
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