In 1910 the 'London Mosque Fund' was established with the aim of building a mosque in London 'worthy of the capital of the British Empire'. Some of the earliest Trustees and members of the Executive Committee included prominent Muslims and non-Muslims including the Aga Khan, Syed Ameer Ali, Lord Nathaniel de Rothschild and Lord Ampthill.
In 1940 three houses were purchased on Commercial Road in East London and converted into a Mosque. It was opened on Friday 1 August 1941 when Lt. Col. Sir Hussain Suhrawardy, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the London Mosque Fund, welcomed worshippers into the newly established East London Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre. The first prayer was led by the then Ambassador for Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Shaikh Hafiz Wahab. In 1948 the London Mosque Fund became the East London Mosque Trust.
In 1975 the Greater London Council acquired the premises in Commercial Road under a compulsory purchase order. Temporary buildings were provided at Fieldgate Street until the present mosque could be built in Whitechapel Road. In 1982 construction work on the new Mosque started and by 1985 the new East London Mosque was completed. On Friday 12 July 1985 Md. Suleiman Jetha, Chairman of the Council of Management of the East London Mosque, welcomed worshippers into the newly built mosque.
During the 1990s the East London Mosque ran a long and ultimately successful campaign to acquire land adjoining the Mosque that was then being used as a car park. The London Muslim Centre was constructed on this site and opened in June 2004.
Over the years many distinguished persons were associated with the London Mosque Fund and its predecessor the East London Mosque Trust. Among them, the Rt. Hon. Syed Ameer Ali, the first Indian Privy Counsellor, who was the Chairman of London Mosque Fund Executive Committee until his death in 1928. His Royal Highness the Aga Khan served as life President of the Board of Trustees. Both Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, the famous translators of the Qur'an, were trustees of the Fund. There were also a large number of non-Muslims who realised that there was a pressing need for a Muslim place of worship in London and joined the struggle. Lord Charles Lamington became a Vice-Chairman of the London Mosque Fund. The famous historian, Professor T. W. Arnold, also became its Secretary and was later replaced by Sir Ernest Hotson, Sir John Woodhead became its Treasurer and the Rt. Hon. Earl Winterton was also a Trustee of the Fund.
