When Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) migrated to the UK from Pakistan, it was felt necessary by the UK Jamaat to find a suitable place outside London, large enough to hold Jalsa Salana and other events. A number of sites, among which was one in the Midlands, were visited in the course of the next few months but none of them was suitable for the Jamaat's requirements.

In September 1984, an approximately 25-acre site of an old residential boarding school was for sale through an auction, situated in Tilford, Surrey and consisting of a number of timber-framed buildings. The site was inspected, and it was felt that it suited Jamaat's requirements. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) was then requested to visit the site. Huzoor (rh), after inspection and approval, instructed the UK Jamaat to bid for it at the auction which was to be held on 18 September 1984 by a real estate agent, Barnard Marcus. Jamaat UK was successful in securing the site at for around £423,000. The site was named “Islamabad” by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh).

This site was where the Jalsa Salana was held for many years. Then, during the time of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa), the Mubarak Mosque was built here and in addition, the site was converted into state-of-the-art offices and residential complex.

Towards the end of his Friday Sermon on 12 April 2019, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V (aa) indicated to the global Jamaat that he would soon move to what would become the new Markaz of the Jamaat – Islamabad, Surrey. He made this move, a historic moment in the history of Islam, in the evening of Monday, 15 April 2019 from London to the new Jamaat Markaz (headquarters) in Tilford, Surrey, to the land that is fittingly named Islamabad. Central offices – including Huzoor’s private secretariat, Wakalat-e-Tabshir, Wakalat-e-Mal, Wakalat-e-Tamil-o-Tanfidh (India, Nepal and Bhutan) – also moved to Islamabad as part of the Markaz’s shift.