William Shellabear

William Girdlestone Shellabear (1862–1948) was a "pioneer" scholar and missionary in British Malaya (today, part of Malaysia). He was known for both his appreciation of Muslim society and also his translation of the Bible into the Malay language

W. G. Shellabear, as he was generally known, first went to Malaya as a British soldier, then returned as a Methodist missionary, where he worked from 1891 to 1948. "He introduced and guided changes in attitudes towards Malays and Islam, which made it possible for Methodist missionaries to relate positively to Malays while maintaining the integrity of their evangelistic outreach." He helped Westerners appreciate "how Malay spirituality represented a genuine commitment to Islam, despite its failure to conform to the expectations of [Western] Orientalists". His appreciation of Malay language and culture made him promote Malay language schools, which brought him into disagreement with many missionaries who preferred to organise and teach at English-language schools.

He produced a voluminous amount of writings, some of which were aimed at Christian Malays, some for Muslims Malays, some for missionaries coming to Malaya, and some for scholars. These included Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), Hikayat Abdullah (The Life of Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir), a Malay hymnal, dictionary and grammar of Malay, and a translation of Pilgrim's Progress. He also collaborated with a Malay scholar, Sulaiman bin Muhammed Nur, in joint publications such as Kitab Kiliran Budi (The Book of Wisdom, a collection of proverbs) and Hikayat Hang Tuah (The Life of Hang Tuah). "His grammar, dictionary, and Bible translation remained in print for decades".

His scholarly activities involved him in the Straits Philosophical Society, the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and the faculty of Hartford Seminary. He was born at Holkham Hall in Norfolk, England (where his father was estate manager) and died in Hartford, Connecticut after retiring from the Seminary in 1936.

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