This Welsh mosque was destroyed 85 years ago

January 1, 2026 adminsr

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Him, and may His peace and blessings be upon His final Messenger, Muhammad.

On this day 85 years ago (2 January 1941), a jubilant new year atmosphere in World War Two Cardiff was snuffed out by a night of horror. That evening the German Luftwaffe struck the Welsh city, dropping hundreds of bombs, killing over 150 people, destroying entire streets and leaving some 3,000 residents homeless. [1]

One of Cardiff’s most famous landmarks, the 12^th century Llandaff Cathedral was badly damaged during the raid, sustaining a broken roof and blown out windows. [2]

While the cathedral’s sad story is widely known, far fewer people are aware of another local place of worship that also suffered a devastating blow during the Nazi attack, namely the Peel Street Mosque. Thankfully, however, the roughly thirty worshippers inside survived the bombardment and escaped serious injuries.

A community older than we realise

It may come as a surprise to some, that both a mosque and a sizable enough Muslim population to warrant one were already present in Cardiff during the Second World War. Especially when we consider that many British Muslims trace their roots in the UK from the 1950s onwards, when their ancestors (or indeed they themselves) arrived to fill post-War labour shortages, aiding the reconstruction of a war-ravaged Britain.

But surprise or not, Cardiff is indeed home to one of the UK’s longest-standing Muslim communities, which opened a mosque of its own in the 1930s under the leadership of the Yemeni Shaykh Abdullah Ali al-Hakimi. [3]

However, the community has far deeper origins, linking back to the British Empire’s shipping industry in the 19^th century, which grew with imperial expansion. Employment in this sector brought Muslim sailors to Cardiff, as well as to other British port towns and cities such as London, Liverpool, Hull, South Shields, and Glasgow. [4]

As a result, Yemeni and Somali seafarers known as “lascars” played an important role in establishing Cardiff’s Muslim community, settling mainly in Butetown, a residential area near the city’s docks. Joined by other maritime workers from India and Malaya, the migrant sailor population grew so much that a dedicated “Home for Coloured Seamen” was opened in 1881. [5]

This boarding house did not only provide a roof over these sailors’ heads. It was a hub for socialising over tea. The seafarers may not have anticipated it at the time, but their numbers would grow and lay down roots. In fact, by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Cardiff and South Shields were home to Britain’s two largest Muslim communities. [6] [7]

That 1,000 of the more than 3,500 lascars who died while shipping supplies to British ports during the war were Cardiff-based Yemenis attests to the sheer size of the community. Cardiff’s Muslims also made their presence more permanent by marrying local Welsh women — who often accepted Islam themselves — and having children.

Overcoming challenges and laying down roots

However, life in Cardiff was by no means plain sailing for these seafarers who experienced racism, discrimination, and even violence from the wider community. Post-war economic hardship and employment combined with existing racial resentment among many in the white Welsh population led to the outbreak of riots in June 1919. [7]

In Cardiff, the thuggery began when a white mob of some 2,000 set upon a small group of Yemenis and Somalis. The rioters destroyed an Arab boarding house, and attacked the homes of non-white sailors as well as the house of a Somali Imam named Hadji Mohamet who had married a local Welsh woman.

Amid the disorder, members of the Muslim community even resorted to defending themselves with revolvers. Attempting to drive back the rioters, they fired warning shots over their heads. And yet, the dire situation did not stop the authorities from treating the victims as the aggressors with some 600 lascars facing deportation.

Nonetheless, the community persisted. And in the 1930s, Shaykh al-Hakimi, who had himself married a woman of mixed British-Yemeni parentage in South Shields, would later highlight the increasingly settled population in a letter to the British Governor of Aden in his native Yemen as a reason for the imperial authorities to contribute to the mosque project. [8]

He wrote,

There are a large number of Moslems resident in Cardiff, and many of us have become citizens, married, and have familys [sic]and we are very anxious that our children shall be given the opportunity of being educated, and in this connection we hope to have your able assistance in raising the necessary £4,000 so that the Mosque and school can be built.” [4]

Establishing the mosque

In 1936 the community got their mosque after three houses were purchased and converted for worship. Around two years later, the Cardiff Muslims gained planning permission for a purpose-built mosque on the land behind the houses, which would go on to be the first of its kind in Wales. [3] [9]

However, the new house of prayer was short-lived. It is unclear as to whether the purpose-built mosque was even completed by early January 1941, but what is certain is that the complex was bombed out of use in the German air raid.

The Muslim community showed impressive resilience in the face of the destruction. Cardiff Muslims clubbed together and raised donations to rebuild the mosque. With additional funding both from the British Council and the government’s Colonial Office, a temporary building was opened for worship a little over two years after the devastating attack. The community marked the occasion on 16 July 1943, with a spectacular display by means of a procession through the streets of Butetown, wearing traditional clothes and carrying flags with Islamic statements on them. [10] [11]

Both local and foreign dignitaries attended as well. From the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Councillor James Griffiths, to Shaykh Hafiz Wahba, a diplomatic representative from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the presence of these guests highlights just how significant the day was.

The temporary mosque was finally replaced by a permanent one in 1946. Just like its English counterpart in Woking (completed in 1889)the Peel Street Mosque also sported traditional Islamic-inspired features such as pointed arches and onion domes.

There the building stood and served the local Muslim community for many years. It would be joined by the South Wales Islamic Centre in the 1970s, established under the leadership of the late Shaykh Saeed Hassan Ismail (d. 2011), himself from mixed British and Yemeni stock. Peel Street Mosque was later demolished amid redevelopment in the Butetown area in 1988, and would be replaced by a new house of prayer, now known as the Noor ul-Islam Mosque. [3] [10] [12] [13]

This mosque is still in use today, and is a strong reminder of the exemplary steadfastness and determination shown by one of Britain’s longest standing Muslim communities, who overcame immense challenges, built institutions, and strived to preserve their faith and identity during difficult times. As Muslims living in the UK today, let us also take inspiration from these pioneers and their efforts as we advocate for our communities, and our brothers and sisters both near and far.