The Muslim News
By Betul Iyilik in Liverpool
An unveiling ceremony of plaques to commemorate the events of a hundred years ago took place in Liverpool on October 10. The plaque, to celebrate the founding of the oldest Mosque in the UK and the events of that time, was unveiled by Mrs Patricia Gordon, the granddaughter of Shaykh Abdullah Quilliam, the founder of the mosque. The ceremony took a place at Brougham Terrace, the Registry Offices of Births, Marriages and Deaths, which was used as a mosque between 1889 to 1908 by approximately 150 local English Muslims. The Mosque was established in 1887 in Mount Vernon Street and, in 1889, moved to Brougham Terrace. The building now houses the Registry Offices of Births, Marriages and Deaths. In the building, a large room, which was used by the Muslims for public meetings and congregational prayers, is now used as a strong room for records and referred by the office staff as the ‘Mosque’. They agree that “it is rather an unusual name for a strong room” but “we use it because of its history”. According to information received by The Muslim News, the building is not big enough to handle the facilities and records and they may move to a new premises. That will give an opportunity to the Muslims to purchase the property and protect their heritage. The ceremony began by the recitation of the Qur’an, followed by a short welcome by the organisers, M Akbar Ali and Somaia McTeer. Ruqaiyyah Maqsood, an educationalist, unveiled the main outdoor plaque. A second plaque, situated outside the actual entrance to the ‘Mosque’ within the building, was unveiled by Mrs Patricia Gordon (seen on the right). In her speech, Mrs Gordon paid tribute to her grandfather Abdullah Quilliam. She said: “At an early age, after spending a holiday in Morocco with his father, he identified with Islam and on his return to England, whole-heartedly embraced the religion. He was a devout Muslim and never deviated from the path to Makkah. He believed that multiculturalism adds to the richness in our community, rather than dividing it. He was tolerant of all denominations, providing they were sincere in their beliefs. He would personally call the faithful to prayer from the mosque, in Arabic and one must remember, that all this happened in England, in an age when if you didn’t conform, your picture was turned to the wall for all time. One of my early recollections of him, is visiting his home in Liverpool and finding him surrounded by law students of all nationalities. I recall, as a very young child, he would sit me on his knee, and read Persian poetry to me, which promptly put me to sleep, and delighted my mother! My greatest memory of him, is being compassionate at all times, a man of great courage and vision and way ahead of his time, and credit to Islam. He gave me an understanding of human emotions and frailties, in fact a catalogue of everything one would wish to see in us all.” Abdullah Quilliam was born in 1856, Liverpool, as the son of a watch manufacturer Robert Quilliam, and a descendant of Capt John Quilliam RN, who was First Lieut on HMS Victory with Nelson. He qualified as a solicitor and at 31, he proclaimed himself to be Muslim. In 1893, he and his group began to publish The Crescent weekly and later, The Islamic World monthly. The papers were printed on their own printing office in the basement and both were distributed to more than twenty countries world-wide. The Sultan of Ottoman Empire bestowed on him the title of ‘Pasha’ and ‘Shaykh-ul Islam’ of Britain. In 1932, he died and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery in London. (Photo: Betul Iyilik/MNews)