10/5/2014 Abdullah Quilliam < The Woking Muslim Mission, England, 1913-1960s

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Abdullah Quilliam
as mentioned in contemporary Ahmadiyya and Woking
Muslim Mission literature
As is well-known and documented in several sources, William Henry Quilliam (b.
1856, d. 1932), a Liverpool solicitor, converted to Islam in the 1880s after a visit to
Morocco, and upon his return began to preach Islam in the Liverpool area, gaining a
small community of converts. He founded the Liverpool Muslim Institute, within
whose building was a prayer room known as the mosque. This mosque is widely
described as the first mosque in the U.K. He published two periodicals The Crescent
Weekly and The Islamic World Monthly. This movement remained active from the
early 1890s to 1908, when Quilliam left England for reasons that are not clear. The
work of his mission then came to an end.
Note: The following are some links to pages on websites containing information about Quilliam.
The Muslim News, 31 October 1997
BBC Legacies webpages (two pages)
The Muslim Council of Britain
Quilliam in Ahmadiyya sources
Quilliam and his work is mentioned in contemporary Ahmadiyya sources of his
time. The Ahmadiyya Movement, founded in the 1880s by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad (d. 1908) in Qadian, India, regarded it as a vital part of its mission to
propagate Islam in the West. Hence it established contacts with converts to Islam in
the West such as Quilliam in England and Alexander Russell Webb in the U.S.A.
The Review of Religions was an English-language monthly started from Qadian at
the direction of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who appointed Maulana Muhammad
Ali (later famous as translator of the Holy Quran into English) as its first editor. This
periodical was regularly sent to Western countries. Following are three articles in the
Review of Religions with reference to Quilliam:
Letter by Quilliam to the Review of Religions, 1905, and advertisement of his
magazines.
Death of Lord Stanley of Alderley reported in the Review of Religions from
Quilliams paper
Account of Quilliams work by an English convert, who knew him well, in the
Review of Religions, 1912
The Woking Muslim Mission and The Islamic Review
After Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din founded the Woking Muslim Mission and The Islamic
Review in 1913, some persons earlier connected with Quilliams mission now
became associated with the Woking Mission and began to write for this magazine. In
The Islamic Review for May 1914 Yehya-en-Nasr Parkinson (the man mentioned
near the end of the last account above) wrote an article entitled The Liverpool
Muslim Movement. Parkinson had been connected with Quilliams movement.
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The article The Liverpool Muslim Movement, The Islamic Review, May
1914
In 1929 a brief booklet Islam in England was published, written by Sheikh Mushir
Hosain Kidwai of Gadia, who was closely involved in the Woking Muslim Mission.
Kidwai was living in England during the latter part of Quilliams Liverpool activities
and afterwards, and had met him.
Excerpt about Quilliams mission in Islam in England, 1929.
Convert mentions attending Quilliams mosque
In the March 1940 issue of The Islamic Review, there is an article by a Mr. Frederick
Hameedullah Bowman of Liverpool about his acceptance of Islam. He writes in it:
When I was at school, there was a Muslim mosque in Liverpool and I
attended many services there with my mother. So interested did I
become that I even tried to emulate the local Sheikh, and, in a home-
made robe, I mounted a box at home to address my own meeting of
neighbours and spread the truths of the Muslim Faith. The mosque
eventually closed, and, for some time, I was out of touch with the
Faith. (See this link for the full article.)
Quilliam as Professor H.M. Leon
It is believed that Quilliam returned to England and used the name Professor H. M.
Leon. There are several articles in The Islamic Review by Prof. Leon. His initials
H.M. usually stand for Haroun Mustapha, although his name appears sometimes as
Henri M. Leon.
See here his address to the first meeting of the British Muslim Society,
December 1914
See here for a brief report of the visit to the Woking Mosque in March 1920
by the Indian Khilafat Delegation, led by the famous nationalist leader
Muhammad Ali Jauhar, when a meeting was held presided over by Prof. Leon.
There is a short, silent newsreel film clip of this occasion available, in which
Prof. Leon can be seen. This may be the only moving film clip of Quilliam.
We find learned articles by Prof. Leon regularly appearing in early issues of The
Islamic Review. A list of his first few articles and the issues in which they appeared
is as follows:
1. Acrimu-al-Hirrah! Respect the cat. A poem. December 1914 issue, p. 546
547.
2. Islam, A Rational Faith. January 1915, p. 2425.
3. The Prophet and the Jew. A poem. February 1915, p. 7374.
4. The Second Pledge of Akaba. April 1915, p. 182187.
5. Review of Leaves from Three Ancient Qurans. May 1915, p. 239250.
6. In praise of the Prophet. A poem. June 1915, p. 286.
7. Islam and Temperance. A lecture delivered in London on 10th April 1915.
Part 1 in June 1915 issue, p. 310321.
8. Islam and Temperance. Part 2 in July 1915 issue, p. 368378.
9. Id-ul-Fitr in England. Report of Eid at Woking in August 1915, in the
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September 1915 issue, p. 445447.
The article The Second Pledge of Akaba listed above, in the April 1915 issue, is
headed by a note from the Editor containing some biographical details about the
author. Its scanned image is displayed below:
From The Islamic Review, April 1915, p. 182
It is evident from the biographical details provided in this note that Prof. H.M. Leon
was the same person as Quilliam.
Attends Id-ul-Adha prayers at Woking a month before his death
Only a month before his death, Quilliam attended the Id-ul-Adha prayers at Woking
held on 16th April 1932. See report of the occasion here, which mentions in the last
paragraph, Among those present, the name Prof. Haroun Mustafa Leon.
Report of death of Quilliam in Lahore Ahmadiyya Urdu organ
Paigham Sulh
The Urdu organ of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, Paigham Sulh, published in
Lahore, also used to carry Woking Muslim Mission news. The issue for 27 May
1932 carries the news of the death of Quilliam as the main news on the front page.
Click here to view that page as a pdf file.
The translation of the article is given below:
Death of Shaikh Abdullah Quilliam
Famous English Muslim convert who used a different name for 24 years
It is learnt by post from England that Shaikh Abdullah Quilliam has died at Newton
Street, Gordon Square, Holborn, London.
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Forty years ago the whole of the Islamic world was echoing with the fame of Shaikh
Abdullah Quilliam. His original name was Mr William Henry Quilliam. He was born
on the Isle of Man and was educated in Liverpool. In 1878 he became a solicitor.
After becoming a Muslim, he went to Iran in 1879, where the Shah treated him as his
own guest. In 1890 Sultan Abdul Hamid called him to Constantinople and later the
Amir of Afghanistan invited him. In Liverpool he served as vice-consul of Iran. He
visited Turkey several times. He had such close relations with Sultan Abdul Hamid
that during the war someone said that if the Sultan had not been deposed, the efforts
of Abdullah Quilliam would probably have prevented the war. He had
comprehensive knowledge of eastern religions. Usually he dressed very simply.
During his lectures he was like a river of knowledge and learning.
He knew the French, Spanish, German, Arabic and Turkish languages. He was a
specialist in theology, physiology and ornithology.
Change of name
Probably in 1908 a revolution occurred in his life and he changed his name. He
became Dr Henry Marcel Leon. It is not known why he changed his name. Some say
it was to benefit from a will. Some say that Dr Leon was the name of a French friend
of his, who died in his arms, so in memory of his friend he took his name. Anyhow,
during the past 24 years no one heard the name Quilliam and it came to be generally
believed that Quilliam had died. In fact, Quilliam had become Dr Leon. At the time
of his death, Shaikh Quilliam was the Dean of the London School of Physiology.
Islamic work
The News of the World writes that during the war Quilliam conveyed top secret
information to the British government. The accuracy of this report is not known. The
Shaikh was a fervent Muslim. As Quilliam he regularly led prayers in the mosque in
Liverpool, and brought about two hundred English persons into the fold of Islam.
After becoming Dr Leon too, he continued to take part in Islamic activities. He
maintained connection with the Woking Muslim Mission, and participated in Islamic
lectures and prayers. He had an intense interest in reading. He was one of the
permanent readers of the world famous British Museum Library.
The Shaikh had a wife named Maryam, an elderly, dignified lady. We have no
information about her.
It is our heart-felt prayer that Allah the Most High grant the late Shaikh a place in
His mercy.
Footnote by Website Editor: The war referred to in the above article was the First
World War, 19141918.
This website is created and published by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore (U.K.), Wembley, London,
the successor of the Woking Muslim Mission.