The London Central Mosque (also known as the Regent's Park Mosque) is an Islamic place of worship located on the edge of Regent's Park in central London. Design and location It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, completed in 1977, and has a prominent golden dome. The main hall can accommodate over 5,000 male worshippers, with women praying on a balcony overlooking the hall. The mosque holds a chandelier and a vast carpet, with very little furniture. The inside of the dome is decorated with sacred geometry in the Islamic tradition and has small stained glass windows around its base, containing turquoise coloured 16-pointed stars. There is also a small bookshop and halal café on the premises. The mosque is joined to the Islamic Cultural Centre (ICC) which was officially opened by King George VI in 1944. The land was donated by George VI to the Muslim community of Britain in return for the donation of land in Cairo by King Farouk of Egypt and Sudan on which to build an Anglican cathedral. The mosque is located near Winfield House, the official residence of the United States Ambassador, and the six villas designed by Quinlan Terry, some of which are private residences for Arab royal families.The Islamic calligraphy was completed by Hassan El-Abhar in 1989 History 1900–1931 Several efforts were made to build a mosque in London, including one initiated by Lord Headley, a convert to Islam. 1937 This project (Nizamia Mosque, later changed to present name) was funded by the Nizam of Hyderabad, India, and the foundation stone of the mosque was laid on Friday, 4 June 1937, by HH Prince Azam Jah - eldest son of Mir Osman Ali Khan - the last ruler of the largest princely state of India, Hyderabad State. 1939 Lord Lloyd of Dolobran, (1879–1941), then Chairman of the British Council, works with a Mosque Committee, comprising various prominent Muslims and Ambassadors in London. 1940 Lord Lloyd, now Secretary of State for the Colonies, sends a memo to the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in which he points out, inter-alia "only London contains more [Muslims] than any other European capital but that in our empire which actually contains more Moslems (sic) than Christians it was anomalous and inappropriate that there should be no central place of worship for Mussulmans (sic). The gift, moreover of a site for a mosque would serve as a tribute to