Yunus Emre InstituteThe book launch and talk of ‘The Collected Poems of Abdullah Quilliam’ with one of the book’s editors, Professor Ron Geaves took place successfully at Yunus Emre Institute London on Thursday June 30th.
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Hosted by Yunus Emre Institute London, ‘The Collected Poems of Abdullah Quilliam’ was launched on Thursday 30th June by Professor Ron Geaves, British scholar of religious studies and an editor of this unique and fascinating collection.
This event with be run jointly between Yunus Emre Institute London and the book’s publisher, Beacon Books. Garnering a full audience, the talk attacked a lot of interest and questions regarding the important British Muslim figure, Abdullah Quilliam.
The Collected Poems of Abdullah Quilliam brings together, for the first time, the secular and religious poetry of Abdullah Quilliam (1856-1932) in a single volume.
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William Henry Quilliam was a local Liverpool solicitor and resident who embraced Islam in 1887 (aged 31), after returning from a visit to Morocco. He took on the name Abdullah and open the Liverpool Muslim Institute, Britain’s first mosque community. Alongside opening schools and orphanages in Britain, Quilliam was a prolific writer, publishing books, journals, and poetry. Through his efforts, he amassed many prominent titles including the title of Shaykh al-Islām for the British Isles given by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the 26th Ottoman Caliph, and the Persian Vice Counsel to Liverpool by the Persian Shah.
With The Collected Poems of Abdullah Quilliam, reader can explore his entire four-decade poetic output which reveals much about his inner spiritual and emotional life, uncovering the private man behind the public figure.
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During the talk, Professor Ron Geaves introduced a selection of poems of Abdullah Quilliam from this collection while also delving into the man behind the poetry. Professor Geaves highlighted how the poems written in Liverpool and Istanbul provide fresh insights into the founder of England’s first Mosque and Muslim community in Liverpool between 1889 and 1908.
Professor Geaves began his talk by talking about his first interactions with the historical figure and how he came about writing his biography. Marvelling at Quilliam’s story, from a non-conformist Christian who became known in the media from the age of 8 to his work as a lawyer in Liverpool, defending the downtrodden, often for no charge, Professor Geaves went into detail about his life before and after his conversion to Islam.
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Already looking for an egalitarian and universal religion long before this trip, Quilliam introduced the religion to the British public and started proselytising. Professor Geaves touched on his desires to introduce Islam as not a foreign religion but one that would complement Christianity through his poems, some of which are the reworkings of popular hymns which would be sung in his mosque on a Sundays!
Throughout the talk, Professor Geaves read through a number of Quilliams poetry, including ‘Maxims for Muslims’ (1895), ‘The Muslim Anthem’ (1901) and ‘Nil Desperadum’ (1904) the earlier of which were published in Quilliam’s paper, ‘The Cresent’.
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Professor Geaves also delved into Quilliams later works following his exile to the Ottoman Empire and returning under a new name. He touched on Quilliam’s poetry getting deeper, humbler and more reflective than his previous works which touched on ethics and its familiarity with British ethics.
The talk ended with a Q&A session from a very eager audience. The last question asked touched on the lesson we could take from Quilliam’s life and Professor Geaves gave a thoughtful answer highlighting the importance of tolerance, generosity and activism.
About the Professor Ron Geaves:
Professor Geaves is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of History, Archaeology, and Religion at Cardiff University. He held a Chair in Religious Studies at the University of Chester (2001-2007) and a Chair in the Comparative Study of Religion at Liverpool Hope University (2007-2013). An author of nineteen books on religion, his research interests focus on the transmigration of Islam into the UK. In recent works he has been arguing for the revival of Sufism globally and, also, the history of the Muslim presence in the UK, culminating in his ground-breaking book Islam in Victorian Britain: The Life and Times of Abdullah Quilliam. He was Chair of the Muslims in Britain Research Network (2007-2010) and instrumental in the creation of BRAIS (British Association of Islamic Studies), and still remains on their advisory board
For more information on the event please visit our website: https://yeelondon.org.uk/ or email at londra@yee.org.tr.