The mission of the World Wars Muslim Memorial Trust is to honour the Muslim soldiers from the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, North Africa, and around the World who served in the armed forces of Britain and its Allies in the two World Wars and subsequently.

The intention has been to devise a memorial which in nature is both Classical and Islamic. The main inspiration for the memorial has been the minaret or column, a familiar feature in both Islamic societies and western cultures. Another source of inspiration has been the Mughal architecture of Pakistan and Northwest India from where many of the soldiers came who are celebrated by the memorial

When the British Government declared war on Germany, both in August 1914 and in September 1939, it was not just the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the British Isles that they were committing to war but all military troops of what was then known as the British Empire.  This included the Dominions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, and the many British territories scattered across the globe including, of course, India from where many of the Muslim soldiers were recruited.