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.
Ron Geaves - is Professor of the Comparative Study of Religion at Liverpool Hope University and has contributed substanially to the study of British Islam, religion in South Asia and fieldwork in religious studies.
'Ron Geaves is to be congratulated for having produced a rigorous and fascinating biography of the "quintessential Englishman", who became a Muslim in late Victorian imperial Britain. Geaves's book is undeniably topical in the light of present-day anxieties concerning the loyalty, identity and citizenship of British Muslims.' - Professor Humayun Ansari, University of London and author of 'The infidel Within': Muslims in Britain since 1800.
'This book offers the first definitive account of the life and legacy of one of the most important figures in the history of Islam in Britain.' - Dr Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Director, Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Cardiff University.
