William Abdullah Quilliam

William Henry Quilliam (April 10 1856 [ [http://www.abdullahquilliamsociety.org.uk/aqsSAQuilliam.html Quilliam Society website] ] [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2826203.ece Forgotten champion of Islam: One man and his mosque - This Britain, UK - Independent.co.uk ] ] [ [http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/people/law/whqllm.htm Brief Biography of William Henry Quilliam ] ] – 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam, was a 19th century convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.

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.

Conversion to Islam

Quilliam was brought up a Christian but learned about Islam and converted, either while visiting southern France in 1882 and crossing over to Algeria and Tunisia, or after visiting Morocco in 1887. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/liverpool/article_1.shtml BBC - Legacies - Architectural Heritage - England - Liverpool - The 'little mosque' - Article Page 1 ] at www.bbc.co.uk] Returning to Liverpool, he began to promote Islam among the masses as Abdullah Quilliam.

Quilliam established the Liverpool Mosque and Islamic Institute at 8 Brougham Terrace, West Derby Street, 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 formerly Methodist mother, 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 other 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 masterpiece, "The Faith of Islam", which was translated into thirteen languages, gaining him fame across the Islamic world.

He received many honours from the leaders of the Islamic world. He was appointed Sheikh al-Islam by the Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Hamid II in 1894 and Persian Consul to Liverpool by the Shah. He also received money from the Emir of Afghanistan to fund the Islamic Institute in Liverpool.

Quilliam's work in Liverpool stopped when he left England in 1908 and the Muslim community there dispersed.

He died in 1932, in London, and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery, near Woking. He was buried near Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (who each translated the Qur'an), and Lord Headley.

Western Muslims, particularly converts to Islam, see him 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 for the purchase of 8-10 Brougham Terrace in order to restore the historic mosque and establish an educational centre. [ [http://www.salaam.co.uk/charities/26-07-05.php Appeal for Heritage Centre in Liverpool] ] It has now signed a two-year lease on the premises. [BBC R4 "Sunday" 12 August 2007]

The Quilliam Foundation, a moderate Muslim thinktank aimed at challenging extremist islamist ideologies, was launched in 2008. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/01/islam.religion The Guardian; Ex-Islamists start moderate thinkthank] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7360652.stm|BBC: "Ex-extremists call for 'Western Islam'"] ] Some Muslims criticised the organization's choice of name because Quilliam was opposed to British imperialism and supported the Ottoman Caliphate, even as Marmaduke Pickthall was supporting the reformist Young Turks. [ [http://www.yahyabirt.com/?p=136/ Abdullah Quilliam: Britain’s First Islamist?] ]

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.abdullahquilliamsociety.org.uk/ Abdullah Quilliam Society]
* [http://abdullahquilliam.wordpress.com/ Abdullah Quilliam: The History of British Muslims]
* [http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/ Quilliam Foundation]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2826203.ece "Forgotten champion of Islam: One man and his mosque" The Independent newspaper, 2 August 2007]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/liverpool/article_1.shtml Special BBC feature on Abdullah Quilliam and his Mosque, including audio testimonials from his grand-daughter and admirers]
* [http://www.mcb.org.uk/features/features.php?ann_id=139 The Muslim Council of Britain's special biography and profile on Quilliam's life]
* [http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/bmh/BMH-AQ-poem4.htm "The Riddle of Life", poem by Abdullah Quilliam]
* [http://www.wokingmuslim.org/pers/quilliam/ Quilliam mentioned in early Ahmadiyya sources and his connection with the Woking Muslim Mission under the name Professor H.M. Leon]
* [http://www.isb.org.uk/iaw/yesteryear.htm A brief look at Muslims in Britain from yesteryear]
* [http://www.islamic-considerations.blogspot.com Review of Abdullah Quilliam and the misappropriation of his name]

Sources

*cite book|last=Lewis|first=Philip|title=Islamic Britain: Religion, Politics, and Identity among British Muslims: Bradford in the 1990s|year=1994|publisher=I.B. Tauris|location=London|id=ISBN 1-85043-861-7