William Quilliam
| Abdullah Quilliam | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 10 April 1856 Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Died | 23 April 1932 (aged 76) Bloomsbury, London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | عبد الله كويليام William Henry Quilliam Henri Marcel Leon Haroun Mustapha Leon |
William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 – 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon, was a 19th-century convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.
William Henry Quilliam was born at 22 Eliot Street, Liverpool, on 10 April 1856, to a wealthy local family. He spent most of his childhood on the Isle of Man and was brought up as a Methodist. He was educated at the Liverpool Institute and the Manx King William's College.
He became a solicitor in 1878, specialising in criminal law, and practising at 28 Church Street, Liverpool. He was described at one point by the Liverpool Weekly Courier as the "unofficial Attorney-General of Liverpool". He defended suspects in many high-profile murder cases. He married Hannah Johnstone in 1879. At this time, Quilliam was also a proponent of the temperance movement in the UK.
Quilliam converted to Islam in 1887 after visiting Morocco to recover from an illness. Quilliam purchased numbers 8, 11 and 12 Brougham Terrace, Liverpool, following his conversion, through a donation from Nasrullah Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan. 8 Brougham Terrace became the Liverpool Muslim Institute, the first functioning mosque in Britain. He also opened a boarding school for boys and a day school for girls, as well as an orphanage, Medina House, for non-Muslim parents who could not look after their children but agreed for them to be brought up as Muslims. In addition, the Institute hosted educational classes covering a wide range of subjects, and included a museum and science laboratory. It opened on Christmas Day, 1889.
In 1889, he first published The Faith of Islam, which was concerned with dawah to Islam and its key principles. Initially, 2000 copies were published, but a further 3000 copies were produced in 1890. Quilliam also published The Crescent, a weekly account of Muslims in Britain, and Islamic World, a monthly publication with a worldwide audience. In 1890, Quilliam orchestrated protests against the showing of Hall Caine's play, Mahomet. 1891 saw the first public Muslim burial in Liverpool, of Michael Hall, a former Methodist preacher who converted to Islam.
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