The story of Golborne Mosque
Golborne Mosque has been part of Golborne Road for forty years. Its story belongs to the Moroccan families who made this corner of North Kensington their home, and who worked, step by step, to give their community a place to pray.
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1960s
From northern Morocco to North Kensington
The first Moroccans to settle in Britain came in the 1960s, most from the Jbala region of northern Morocco: Larache, Tetouan, Tangier and the villages around them. Many found work in London’s hotels and kitchens and made their homes in North Kensington, and from the early 1970s their families followed. What they did not yet have was a mosque of their own.
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1981
Three founders
The mosque was founded in 1981 by three Moroccans, and most of its worshippers are of Moroccan origin.
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1985–1987
Looking for a home
In 1985 the community applied to turn 76 Golborne Road, then a shop, into a mosque. The council refused twice, and an appeal was dismissed in 1987. In the meantime, on 3 July 1986, the Golborne Mosque Trust was registered as a charity.
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1989
Permission at last
In February 1989 the council gave permission for a mosque in the basement of number 76. After four years of trying, the mosque had a home on Golborne Road.
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2000s
Little Morocco
By now Golborne Road was known as “Little Morocco”, lined with Moroccan cafés, butchers and grocers. A 2009 government study named the mosque as one of the two most used by Britain’s Moroccan community, especially by older worshippers, who gathered to recite the hizb of the Qur’an together.
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Today
Still part of the community
The Golborne Mosque Trust still looks after the mosque. It holds the five daily prayers and Jumu‘ah, a free iftar every day of Ramadan, the Eid prayers, funeral prayers and spiritual counselling. From the dawn prayer to the last prayer of the night, it remains part of the daily life of Golborne Road.
Sources
- Myriam Cherti, British Moroccans: Citizenship in Action, Runnymede Trust (2009).
- Change Institute, The Moroccan Muslim Community in England, Communities and Local Government (2009).
- Layers of London, “Al Manaar – Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre and Golborne Road Mosque”, a community record by Tabassum Hawa for Everyday Muslim.
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, planning archive for 76 Golborne Road (TP/85/1485, TP/88/1554).
- Charity Commission register: Golborne Mosque Trust, no. 294588.