The History of Islam and Muslims in Britain: A Brief Historical Overview
Historical accounts show that not only was the early Muslim world aware of the British Isles, but they also had a relationship on intellectual, political, economic, and military terms. Britain's contacts and connections with Muslims are older than often thought, and yet the Muslim impact on and contribution to Western civilisations is routinely overlooked.
The Eighth Century
The presence of Islam and Muslims in Europe can be traced as far back as the eighth century. Muslim advances in 732 CE1 came as close as Poitiers in France. This indicates a strong possibility that the British were aware of Islam and Muslims from that point.
The Anglo-Saxon King, King Offa of Mercia (756-796 CE), perhaps most famous for building Offa's Dyke was also instrumental in the reformation of Mercian coins during the 760s. One of the discoveries of Anglo-Saxon archaeology is the golden coinage of King Offa. The coinage, found in Kent, was issued in Arabic Kufic script bearing Qur'anic verses referring to the fundamentals of the Islamic faith along with the name of King Offa of Mercia. The coin was procured by the Duc de Blacas in Rome sometime before 1841 and has been in the British Museum since 1922. It is widely believe that King Offa minted these coins to attract trade and business from the Muslim world, which at the time was economically superior.
Dating back to the ninth century, the Ballycottin Cross, found on the Southern coast of Ireland, is also worth mentioning. It is significant because, like Offa's coins, the cross also bears an Arabic inscription. Set in a glass bead is the word 'Bismillah', meaning 'In the Name of Allah'.
Mohammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi (780-850 CE), as well as being an astronomer and a mathematician who founded algebra and algorithms, was also a geographer. His book, Kitab Surat al-Ard (Face of the Earth) includes a map of the world, the first of its kind. It details the British Isles, mentioning some British landmarks. This is another indication that Muslims had encounters with the British Isles as early as the eighth century.
Tenth to Thirteenth Centuries
During this time and onwards, there are many examples of British men travelling to Islamic countries, learning Arabic, and translating literature into Latin. One of the most well known is Adelard of Bath, known as the 'First English Scientist'. Among the works he translated was al-Khwarizmi's work on mathematics and astronomical tables. It was through these translations that the numerical value of 'zero', and the Hindi-Arabic numerals were introduced into Britain, and the West as a whole. If not for the work of al-Khawarizmi, and the translation made by Adelard, it is likely that Britain would have been using Latin numerals for a much longer period. His book 'Quaestiones Naturales', consisting of seventy-six chapters, is a dialogue in which he discusses different scientific questions and what he learnt about them during his seven-year stay with 'Arabs'.
In search of 'enlightenment' and seeking knowledge, Daniel of Morley, like Adelard, set off to the Muslim world. He travelled through the South of Spain, Cordoba, Toledo, and Seville and by 1180 he was lecturing in Mathematics and Astronomy at Oxford. His translation of the work of Ibn Rushd (Averroes) on Aristotle contributed to the 'Renaissance' in the West.
During this time, Muslim scholarship was well-known, and there was a clear exchange between the Muslim world and the West in all fields of knowledge from agriculture to geography, music, science, mathematics and social science.
Relationships were not confined to the intellectual, but also included political and partisan connections. For example, King John was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III in the twelfth century for offering his help to the North African King, Abu Abdullah Mohammad an-Nasir, in his campaign against the Spanish Catholic King of Aragon. Much later, Elizabeth I offered in 1588 to enter into an alliance with Murad III (1546-95) to overthrow the then King of Spain, as she viewed the Muslims as 'fellow monotheists' and the Spanish King as 'idolatrous' (M. Rodinson, Europe and the Mystique of Islam, 1991).
Although antagonistic, the political relationship between Britain and the Muslim world was perhaps most clear during the Crusades.
Interaction continued throughout the centuries, with political and cultural interplay existing between the two antithetical societies.
Regardless of political interplays, till then the relationship between Britain and the Islamic world remained largely external. With the decline of Muslim power, specifically the Ottoman Empire, and the encroachment of British colonialism, this relationship changed. The migration of peoples of Muslim background, together with migration of other peoples as a result of Britain's colonial activities, has given Britain and Scotland the shape it has today.
Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
The arrival of Muslims in Britain began in the early part of the Nineteenth Century. The migrants came from a broad range of ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds. They consisted of people connected to the British Empire: Malaya, Yemen, India, and British Somaliland. Initial communities were formed in Manchester, Cardiff, East London, and Liverpool. Early immigrants were mainly sailors, but also merchants, servants, students, itinerant entertainers, princes, and people from professional classes (Ansari, 2004). A significant number of migrants who came during the nineteenth century were maritime workers, also known as lascars. Four hundred and seventy lascars were recorded in 1804. By 1842 between three and twelve thousand arrived in Britain. Records dating from 1873 show that the majority of the lascars were Muslims from India, Egypt, Turkey, and Malaya (now Malaysia).
The earliest political refugees came to Britain around 1867 from Turkey and Cyprus. By this time, Britain had developed into a 'liberal democracy', and the freedom associated with this attracted immigrants into the country. This trend continues today.
At the same time, Muslims came to Britain with economic aspirations. For example, Monshee Mahomet Saeed came to Britain as early as 1777 and set up an 'Indian Vapour Bath and Shampooing Establishment' in Brighton. His success is shown by the fact he was appointed 'Shampooing Surgeon' to His Majesty George IV. His book 'The Travels of Dean Mohamet' was the first known book published by a Muslim in Britain.
Many Muslims came at this time in search of education, and many of the students were from India. As the British hold in India was strong at the time, many of those in the upper class felt the best education would be 'western' education. Therefore, from four students recorded in 1845, there were 207 Indian students by the 1890s and a further 700 by 1910.
Two of the prominent Indian figures, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948), leader of the Muslim League and the founder of Pakistan, and Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), revered as a great thinker and poet, especially on Muslim nationhood, studied at Oxford and Cambridge respectively. Jinnah was called to the bar at Lincolns Inn and he practiced law in Britain from 1930 until 1934. Iqbal also qualified as a Barrister and later went on to complete a PhD at Munich University.
The First World War resulted in an increased demand for labour. This shortage was met mainly by labour from the colonies, and thus the presence of Muslim seaman in British ports increased greatly at this time.
The East India Company was instrumental in bringing employees from India into Britain. Through the company, a huge interaction took place between Muslims in India and Britain. One of the most famous examples is of Munshi Abdul Karim. He came to Britain not long after Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. By 1894 he was promoted to the position of her 'Indian Secretary'. He would dine at the Royal table and offer moral support to the Queen. Munshi and his family were shipped back to India after the death of Queen Victoria, and only recently has there been a fresh interest in the extent of the role he played.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was an educationalist who, after a long stay in England, took back to India the impression that the Muslims must make use of Western science and Western ways of thinking if they were not to be hopelessly submerged. He championed the cause for working in collaboration with the British and of introducing 'modern' knowledge into mainstream Indian education. In 1857, he founded a college at Aligarh that has achieved international recognition.
Syed Ameer Ali (1849-1928) was a Shia Muslim from Calcutta who came to study law. During his first residency in Britain (1869-1973) he was called to the Bar, and also became involved in political and social reform activities. As well as discussing pertinent issues for Indian Muslims, he also campaigned for the suffragette movement for British women's civil rights. On returning to India he became a judge of the High Court in Calcutta (1890-1904). As well as lecturing, he also published various articles. In 1884 he married Isabelle Ida Konstam from the Unitarian Church, and by 1904 he had returned to England, where he resided until his death
William Henry Quilliam (1856-1936), born and raised in Liverpool, embraced Islam at the age of thirty-five. He is particularly significant as he was one of the first indigenous Britons to accept Islam. His professional background was in law and he was a trained solicitor.
He inaugurated the first masjid in Liverpool and formed a Muslim community, which was composed of English converts to the faith. The Sultan of Turkey named him 'Shaykh al-Islam' of Britain. The King of Morocco made him an 'Alim' and the Sultan of Persia appointed him as Consul. The King of Afghanistan granted him two and a half thousand pounds toward the building of the Islamic Institute and Masjid in Liverpool.
He was also a social activist. He not only established a Muslim College with courses for both Muslims and non-Muslims, he also established a refuge for women and organised care for illegitimate children and found foster homes for them.
'The Crescent', a weekly paper, and 'Islamic World', an academic journal, were also initiated by him. He further wrote 'The Faith of Islam' and wrote on inter-faith issues, addressing Christianity and the Judaic Laws.
Lord Headley al-Farooq, the 5th Barron of Headley (1855-1935), is another indigenous Briton who, in 1913, accepted the Islamic faith. He was born in Woking and educated in Cambridge. By 1877 he had become a peer and served as captain and later lieutenant in the army. He was also Colonel in the 4th Battalion of North Minister Fusiliers. In addition, he wrote several books, the most famous being A Westerner Awakening to Islam.
Sir Abdullah Archibald Hamilton was a native Scot who converted to the Islamic faith. Sir Archibald was a descendant of William Hamilton, one of the six Kentish petitioners, brother of Sir James Hamilton of Donalton, direct ancestor of the Duke of Abercorn, and also Baron Hamilton of Paisley, who married Mary, daughter of King James II of Scotland. He embraced Islam in 1924, and was a close friend of Lord Headley.
Sir Marmaduke Pickthall (1875-1936) was born in London to an Anglican clergyman. After extensively travelling around the Muslim world, in 1917 he accepted Islam. He was a deeply literary man who dedicated most of his time to writing and lecturing, especially on Islam and its message. He is most famous for his translation of the Qur'an, the first of its kind. 'The Meaning of the Glorious Koran' was published in 1930, and it is still one of the most well-read translations of the Qur'an.
Click here for more about British converts to Islam.
Muslims are not one monolithic group or class; consequently, their background and origin shape their identities in Britain. There is a wealth of history exemplifying the contribution Islam and Muslims have made to the world, and British history is saturated with Muslim heritage.
1CE refers to Common Era. For an explanation of why this abbreviation is used rather than AD, please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era