Islam in Victorian Britain: The Life and Times of Abdullah Quilliam is the first full biography of Abdullah Quilliam (1856–1932), the most significant Muslim personality in nineteenth-century Britain. Ennobled as the Sheikh of Islam of the British Isles by the Ottoman caliph, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, in 1893, Quilliam was a charismatic preacher who established a remarkable Muslim community in Victorian Liverpool, including a large number of converts.
A successful solicitor, Quilliam also fought for the rights of the city’s poor and defended the Ottoman caliphate and independent Muslim states through his international publications The Crescent and The Islamic World. After 1908, he left Liverpool under controversial circumstances and lived under a pseudonym, yet continued to play a role in British Islam in London, where he was active in the Woking Mosque.
Based on extensive archival research, Ron Geaves provides not only the first detailed account of Quilliam’s colourful and turbulent life but also examines his teachings and assesses his legacy for British Muslims today.
Book Details
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Author: Ron Geaves
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Format: Paperback
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Pages: 337
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Publisher: Kube
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Dimensions: 15 × 23 x 2.5cm
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ISBN-13: 9781849042754
Author Biography — Ron Geaves
Ron Geaves is a British scholar of religion specialising in Islam in the West, Sufism, and new religious movements. He served as Professor of the Comparative Study of Religion at Liverpool Hope University and has held academic posts at Cardiff University and other institutions. Geaves has published widely on the history and development of Muslim communities in Britain, including works on Sufism, religious leadership, and conversion. His biography of Abdullah Quilliam reflects his long-standing research into the roots of Islam in the UK and its continuing legacy.
