Islam in Victorian Britain

This is the first full biography of Abdullah Quilliam (1856-1932), the most significant Muslim personality in nineteenth century Britain. Uniquely ennobled as the Sheikh of Islam of the British Isles by the Ottoman caliph, Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1893, Quilliam, as a charismatic preacher, created a remarkable community of Muslims in Victorian Liverpool, which included a substantial number of converts.A successful solicitor, Quilliam fought for the rights of the city's poor and, in the high noon of European colonialism, defended the Ottoman caliphate and independent Muslim states through his two international publications, "The Crescent" and "The Islamic World". After 1908, in controversial circumstances, Quilliam left Liverpool and spent the rest of his life living under a pseudonym, but still figured as a major contributor to British Islam in London, where he was involved with the Woking Mosque. Based on exhaustive archival work, Ron Geaves not only provides the first account of Quilliam's colourful and turbulent life, but examines his teachings and considers his legacy for British Muslims today.