Abdullah Quilliam
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(Redirected from William Henry Quilliam)
| Abdullah Quilliam | |
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| Born | 10 April 1856 Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Died | April 23, 1932 (aged 76) London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | عبد الله كويليام William Henry Quilliam Henri Marcel Leon Haroun Mustapha Leon |
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Background
William Quilliam was born in Liverpool to a wealthy Manx family in 1856. His father, Robert Quilliam, was a watch manufacturer. William was educated at the Liverpool Institute and King William's College on the Isle of Man. He began work as a solicitor in 1878, building a successful legal practice in Liverpool. He married Hannah Johnstone in 1879.Conversion to Islam
Quilliam was brought up a Methodist[4] but converted to Islam after visiting Morocco to recover from an illness at the age of 17.[5] Returning to Liverpool, he began to promote Islam in Britain as Abdullah Quilliam. He had earlier learned about Islam while visiting southern France in 1882 and crossing over to Algeria and Tunisia.Quilliam established the Liverpool Muslim Institute at 8 Brougham Terrace, West Derby Road, Liverpool in 1889, opening on Christmas Day. This was England's first mosque, accommodating around a hundred Muslims, This was followed by a Muslim college, headed by Haschem Wilde and Nasrullah Warren, which offered courses for both Muslims and non-Muslims. A weekly Debating and Literary Society within the college attracted non-Muslims.
Quilliam influenced the paths of other converts, including his mother Harriet,[6] his sons, and scientists and intellectuals and his example lead to the conversion of over 150 Englishmen to Islam. Quilliam was influential in advancing knowledge of Islam within the United Kingdom and gained converts through his literary works and the charitable institutions he founded.
An active writer and essayist, he produced a weekly paper, The Crescent, from 1893 until 1908. He published three editions of his The Faith of Islam which, translated into thirteen languages, gained him fame across the Islamic world.
He travelled extensively and received many honours from the leaders of the Islamic world. He had contact with English-speaking West African Muslims and toured the region's coastal cities on his way to Lagos to attend the consecration of the Shitta Bey Mosque in 1894.[7] He was appointed Sheikh-ul-Islam of the British Isles by the Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Hamid II in 1894 and Persian Vice Consul to Liverpool by the Shah. He also received money from the Emir of Afghanistan to help fund the Islamic Institute in Liverpool.
Quilliam's work in Liverpool stopped when he left England in 1908 in advance of being struck off as a solicitor.[8][9] His son swiftly disposed of the property that had been used as a mosque and Islamic centre. Without Quilliam's influence and funding, the Muslim community in Liverpool dispersed.
He had returned to the UK by December 1914 under the name of H. M. Leon.[10] He spent much of his time at Onchan on the Isle of Man. He died in London in 1932 and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery, near Woking. The prominent Anglo-Muslims Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (who each translated the Qur'an), and Lord Headley were all later buried near him.
Legacy
Western Muslims, particularly converts to Islam, see Quilliam as a pioneer of the path they have taken. His legacy is maintained by the Abdullah Quilliam Society which was formed in 1996. The Society is raising funds to restore 8-10 Brougham Terrace to re-open the historic mosque and establish an educational centre.[11]The Quilliam Foundation, a thinktank aimed at challenging extremist Islamist ideologies, was launched in 2008.[12][13]
Notes and references
- ^ Quilliam Society website
- ^ "Forgotten champion of Islam: One man and his mosque". The Independent (London). 2007-08-02.
- ^ Brief Biography of William Henry Quilliam
- ^ The Convert's Passion by Brent D. Singleton, p104
- ^ Sardais, Louise (2012-MM-DD). "The 'little mosque'". BBC. Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ The Islamic World, vi, 189-191 quoted at http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/bmh/BMH-Harriet_Quilliam.htm
- ^ Singleton, Brent D. (September 2009) "'That Ye May Know Each Other': Late Victorian Interactions between British and West African Muslims," Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs vol. 29, issue 3, pp. 387-403.
- ^ Straits Times 1 July 1932 “The statutory committee of the Law Society found that when he was acting for a woman who was petitioning for a divorce on the grounds of cruelty and adultery, Quilliam instigated and connived at the act of a man who induced the husband to commit adultery and presented to the court a case which he knew to be false.”
- ^ http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19320611.2.48.6 gives details of the divorce case of Martha May & Enoch Griffiths Thompson
- ^ http://www.wokingmuslim.org/work/bm-soc1.htm (a Henri Mustapha Leon, aged 55, living in St Pancras, London, appears in the Census of April 1911)
- ^ Appeal for Heritage Centre in Liverpool
- ^ The Guardian; "Ex-Islamists start moderate thinkthank" 1 March 2008
- ^ "Ex-extremists call for 'Western Islam'"
External links
- Abdullah Quilliam Society
- Abdullah Quilliam: The History of British Muslims
- Quilliam Foundation
- Forgotten champion of Islam: One man and his mosque The Independent newspaper, 2 August 2007
- Special BBC feature on Abdullah Quilliam and his Mosque, including audio testimonials from his grand-daughter and admirers
- The Muslim Council of Britain's biography and profile on Quilliam's life
- The Riddle of Life, poem by Abdullah Quilliam
- A brief look at Muslims in Britain from yesteryear
The legacy of Victorian England's first Islamic convert
25 April 2012 Last updated at 04:12 GMT
The mosque, in the middle of the three houses owned by Quilliam, has fallen into disrepair
On a
bleak, wet and windy day in Liverpool the old Georgian, white-stoned
building which once housed England's first registered mosque looks quite
dull.
The property on Brougham Terrace is just a few miles from
Liverpool city centre but, in stark contrast to the newer council
building next door to it, the paint is peeling off the front walls and
the windows are boarded up, after years of vandalism.The house, one of three adjoining properties, was once owned by William Abdullah Quilliam, a solicitor and son of a Methodist preacher. In 1887, he became the first Christian to convert to Islam in Victorian England.
Born William Henry Quilliam, he turned to the religion after a trip to Morocco, and adopted the name Abdullah.
Two years later he opened the Liverpool Muslim Institute at 8 Brougham Terrace, as a mosque and hub for the growing Muslim community. He also opened a boys and girls school and an orphanage.
Professor Ron Geaves is author of the book Islam in Victorian Times. He gave the first Abdullah Quilliam Lecture at the Pakistan Community Centre in Liverpool earlier this month.
"William Abdullah Quilliam was brought up as a devout Christian and was part of the Temperance Movement which promoted abstinence from alcohol. One of the reasons he was attracted to Islam was that alcohol is forbidden for Muslims. He also had theological concerns about Trinitarian Christianity," he said.
Muslim leader Quilliam gained national and international recognition through his many writings and lectures about Islam and Muslims. Part of his house was converted into a publishing house for this purpose.
In 1894 the title of Sheikh-ul-Islam, leader of Muslims in the British Isles, was conferred on him by the last Ottoman caliph, Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He was also appointed Vice Consul of Persia by the Shah.
Prof Geaves said: "He was a royalist and was also recognised by Queen Victoria. He had sent her one of his books about Islam, apparently. She then ordered several copies for her children."
William Abdullah Quilliam, founder of England's first registered mosque
Prof Geaves recounts an occasion when Quilliam, as Sheikh-ul-Islam, dressed in his long robes and turban, accompanied the Lord Mayor to greet foreign dignitaries arriving in England through the port at Liverpool. They included maharajas, royalty and world leaders.
"Hundreds of guests had gathered in the Great Hall, in the Empire building, including foreign troops. When they saw him the whole regiment rose and offered him not the British military salute but the Islamic 'Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar'. (God is great)."
Quilliam had been responsible for the spread of Islam in England in the Victorian era. He helped to convert about 600 people. They included the wealthy landowner, Lord Stanley of Alderley, in Cheshire, the first Muslim peer in the House of Lords. This also proved controversial.
Prof Geaves: "At the time of his (Lord Stanley's) death some Christians questioned if he was a Muslim. They said that he had built churches on his land and therefore could not be one.
"Quilliam then intervened and told them that, as a landowner, he could provide places of worship for his Christian workers."
Despite the controversy, Lord Stanley had a Muslim burial with Quilliam leading the Islamic funeral prayers at the mosque he had established in Brougham Terrace.
The prayer hall has holes in the walls
Behind the door of 8 Brougham Terrace today lies what could be described as an empty shell. The old prayer hall has holes in the walls where doors and windows once stood.
A group of Muslims from Merseyside set up the Abdullah Quilliam Society in 1999 in order to preserve Quilliam's legacy. In 2000 they took over responsibility for the building, which is now recognised as part of British Heritage.
The society wants to reopen the mosque and publishing house as a museum and heritage centre.
Its chairman, Ghalib Khan, said: "It is the birthplace of Islam in the UK. We need to raise £3.8m to return it to its former glory.
"Several hundred Muslims used to gather here to listen to the Sheikh. There was also a piano at the back of the prayer hall. He was known for rewriting Christian hymns so that they had an Islamic slant to them."
Work to restore the mosque has been slow. So far, they have only raised about £300,000 which was used to reroof the property and for the treatment of dry rot.
Mr Khan said: "We wanted to complete the project by 2008. However this wasn't possible. We are now looking to carry out the work in several phases but times are hard, everyone is short of money.
"We've got some people who give us a pound a month or a week but we are optimistic that we can raise £100,000 so at least the prayer hall can be renovated before the summer and Ramadan, which starts in July."
'Absolutely fascinating' The Abdullah Quilliam Society is trying to raise the profile of the Sheikh-ul-Islam. It recently held its first annual lecture in his honour, at the Liverpool Pakistan Community centre.
It also plans to hold an awards ceremony to recognise people who promote Islam and who work to foster good links with other faiths.
The lecture was attended by some of the Sheikh's descendants. Jonathon Quilliam and other members of his family had travelled to Liverpool from Stafford.
"I think I'm related through my dad's side. It's very interesting to know that someone from the Isle of Man originally, where we still have relatives, and then from Liverpool, was responsible for the rise of Islam in this country, absolutely fascinating."
Some of the British Muslims attending the lecture were impressed by Quilliam's courage and strength of purpose.
Mohammed Afzal, who is in his late 20s, said: "It's important because a lot of stigma is attached to Islam, but Quilliam spoke out about it openly even though it was against the status quo."
Shaheena Anjum said: "In this day and age, people find things difficult, but he came from a Christian, Methodist background.
"I think what he did required a lot of determination and courage."
Revamp for England's first mosque
The mosque closed in 1908
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A £3m project to refurbish what is believed to be England's first mosque gets under way this month.
The restoration of the Grade II listed building at Number 8
Brougham Terrace in Liverpool will begin after emergency repairs to the
roof are completed.
The mosque was opened on Christmas Day 1889 by Henry William Quilliam, who converted to Islam in 1887, adopting the name Abdullah Quilliam.
The mosque stopped running in 1908 when Abdullah Quilliam went travelling.
Dr Mohammad Akbar Ali, 85, set up the Abdullah Quilliam Society in 1997 with the intention of restoring the mosque to its former glory.
Galib Khan, the current chairman of the Abdullah Quilliam Society, said he hoped part of the building would be opened in the next six months.
About £2.5m still needs to be raised
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He said: "It's a heritage site for us. This truly is the birthplace of Islam in Britain.
"We want to make it into a heritage centre for Islamic culture and interfaith dialogue.
"We will start on the refurbishment once we have finalised the lease arrangements with the city council."
The emergency repairs to the roof cost about £100,000 and £2.5m still needs to be raised towards the restoration project.
Mumin Khan, chief executive of the Abdullah Quilliam Society, said: "We have reached a milestone and breakthrough by raising more than a quarter of a million pounds in pledges for the work with one of the Bangladeshi-language channels, Channel S.
"This allows us to start the refurbishment phase of the project while carrying out further fundraising."
A spokesman for English Heritage, the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, said: "It is an immensely important monument to Islam in Britain and it is believed to be England's earliest mosque."
The refurbishment work is due to begin this month.
http://www.abdullahquilliamsociety.org.uk
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