Hazrat Maulvi Nooruddin - Khalifatul-Masih I — Page 286
PERSONAL REMINISCENCES Hadrat Maulw i Nur-ud-D i n ra — Khalifatul Masih I 286 Dr. Henry Leitner, an orientalist of repute, was Principal of Oriental College, Lahore, during the closing years of the Nineteenth century. In anticipation of his retirement he formed the design of establishing an Oriental Institute in or near London, and approached Muslim rulers of Indian States for financial contributions. Among his principal contributors were Her Highness the Begum of Bhopal, and the premier nobleman and Prime Minister of Hyderabad, Nawab Sir S a l a r Jang. On his return to England Dr. Leitner selected and purchased a large area of land near Woking, in Surrey, for his project, and established the Oriental Institute in the area, and also built a small mosque, and a residential unit on a portion of the area. The mosque was named Sh a h Jahan Mosque after Her Highness the Begum of Bhopal, and the residential unit was named Sir S a l a r Jang Memorial House. Woking is twenty-four miles from London, and as there were no Muslims resident in Woking or in its vicinity, no services were held in the mosque and it remained as a sort of museum piece, or an architectural curiosity for visitors. When Dr. Leitner died, the whole estate passed into the possession and came under the control of the members of his family. About that time, Sayyid Amir ‘Al i , Judge of the Calcutta High Court, a public spirited Muslim and a distinguished scholar, well- known for his outstanding works, The Spirit of Islam and History of the Saracens , was appointed a member of the Judicial Committee of His Majesty’s Privy Council and took up his residence in London. Another eminent Muslim in London at that time was Mirz a ‘Abb a s ‘Al i Baig, who was a member of the Advisory Council of the Secretary of State for India. These two having taken counsel together proposed to the members of Dr. Leitner’s family that as the Institute