British Billionaire Gets Approval to Build Mosque on London Landmark

by Rehan Qamar

British real-estate tycoon has been given the go-ahead to build a three-story Islamic center inside the Trocadero, a baroque landmark near the famed Piccadilly Circus in London’s West End.

Asif Aziz was given approval by a planning committee back in May to build a mosque in part of the complex that’s been vacant since 2006, according to The Daily Mail. It will have the capacity to host 390 worshippers.

While plans to build the mosque have been in the works for years, Aziz has faced backlash from residents and far-right groups for his proposal, which originally called for a much bigger space.

According to The Telegraph, nationalist groups like Britain First organized a petition demanding the mosque be rejected, which some saw as xenophobic.

The Trocadero has had a long history as one of London’s premier real-estate jewels. Built in 1896 as a restaurant, the complex was closed in 1965 and sat vacant until it was turned into an exhibition space in the 1980s with an attached hotel.

Aziz’s property company, Criterion Capital, then bought the complex with plans to redevelop it in 2005. Azis is a well-known London billionaire who was called Britain’s “meanest landlord” during the pandemic for demanding his tenants pay rent on time at the height of the lockdowns, according to the Mail.